


Monster in the Mirror

by SaphiraRyuuka



Category: Prototype (Video Games), South Park
Genre: F/M, South Park: The Stick of Truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 65
Words: 128,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26300065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaphiraRyuuka/pseuds/SaphiraRyuuka
Summary: (First Fic of its Kind!) Some say hiding is cowardly, others say its essential for survival. The latter is especially true for Saphira and Alex MacManus: the New Kids of South Park. But these two kids have secrets: secrets so dangerous that many could be killed for it. Now dragged into a strange game with the locals, they will only have two choices: hide or fight. (TSOT/PROTOTYPE)
Relationships: Kenny McCormick/Original Female Character(s), Kyle Broflovski/Original Female Character(s), Stan Marsh/Wendy Testaburger
Comments: 14
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Boxes. That's all our room consisted of as my six-year-old brother and I unpacked our things and settled them into their new places. My parents had pulled Alex and I from school, told us to pack up all our stuff, drove for a ridiculous amount of hours from our home in Miami to a very small mountain town in Colorado. This was a change bordering on the extreme population and temperature wise, but I didn't mind: I liked the cold and snow.

My brother, not so much: he was like our mother when it came to cold, anything below eighty and they wear jackets. As I finished putting our beds together, I took in his features and burst out laughing to the point where my ribs ached. Poor Alex had on four pairs of socks, three shirts, two sweaters, a parka, ski gloves over a pair of mittens, and three pairs of pants. All in all, he looked just like Randy from 'A Christmas Story' after his mother dressed him for school.

My laughing was interrupted by a pair of underwear hitting me in the face as he glared at me from under his scarf before waddling over to the desk and fed Goldie: his goldfish. Now don't get me wrong, both of us are very well toned and fit for our age: but with all those clothes on, he looked like a tick about to pop.

'How the hell is he not sweating his ass off?' I wondered as I glanced at him one more time before setting up a pair of tables about the size of two portable food trays combined against the wall. Once that was done, I unboxed one of two twenty gallon glass tanks and put the furniture back in it: rug, water dish, climbing branches, hiding log and heating pad, thermometer, and lastly the nocturnal heat lamp on the screen lid.

I did the same for the other tank as Alex opened the thick Styrofoam cooler and removed one of the tanks' residents: a three-foot long ball python named Hershey. Alex named her that because she is different shades of brown and white, like the chocolates. If you're wondering what the hell we're doing with a snake, I have always been a tomboy and caught just about every kind of snake or lizard you could come up with. When Alex was born, I taught him all I knew: how to tell a venomous snake from a harmless one, how to handle them without getting bit, etc.

As I lifted Hershey's heavy body from him and placed her in her now-warm cage, Alex returned to the Styrofoam box and handed me Jake: my pride and joy. Like Hershey, Jake is also a ball python, but he is a breed that reptile fanatics like to call a Pastel Platinum: he is a burgundy-brown from the top of his nose to the tip of his tail, on top of that are neon-green and yellow splotches of color, he is macaroni-and-cheese yellow and light-tan along his sides with the brown blending in to create his pattern which consisted of an alien face on the side of his neck and a spot that looks like Snoopy by his tail amongst other random shapes.

As I placed him inside his house and made sure both were locked so they wouldn't escape, I turned to Alex and helped him tack up his Terrance and Philip poster up above the desk as well as place some of our clothes in the closet, once that was done I shared a grin and a fist-bump with him as our hours of unpacking was finally done and over with.

"Finally finished Saphy! Now we can hook up the Xbox and play with our friends." Alex cheered as he hurriedly hooked up the system to the TV, more than ready to get to playing and talking with the friends we had left behind. "C'mon Alex, you know I hate it when you call me that." I griped at his ridiculous nickname for me as I dug my dark-red hoodie out of the box of clothes we chose to wear that day. Gathering up my black dragon leather gloves and my orange pants, I headed for the bathroom to change out of my PJs while Alex finished getting ready in our room.

After I was dressed, I took in my features in the mirror: my Florida-tanned skin will soon start to pale but I didn't mind, my deep dark-blue eyes that resembled sapphires, and my odd burgundy-colored hair. I have always wondered why my hair was like that, but then again, my mom told me my hair and skin were blue until I was three: hence my name. Leaving the bathroom and returning to Alex, I found him at the window watching it snow.

Before I could ask if he needed anything, our parents barged in our room with excited looks on their faces. "Hey guys, how do you like your new room?" dad asked as Alex looked around without saying anything. "Its fine dad, we just miss home is all." I said as my mom gave us sympathetic looks while our dad scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "This is home now so get used to it, now kids do you…REMEMBER why we moved to this quiet little mountain town?" he asked again, making me scrunch up my face into a harsh glare, while Alex scowled but you couldn't tell because of his parka and the scarf around his face.

Our irritation increased when both our parents began whispering to each other about us not remembering the reason why we moved, when in truth we can never forget it. Noticing my glare, mom tried to change the subject before any fights could start. "Sweethearts, we want you to have as much fun here as at the old house, why don't the two of you go out and make some friends?" she suggested as I shared a glance with my brother. "That's right kids, get outside and PLAY like…like NORMAL kids." dad said, making me grit my teeth and clench my fists, only to chill out when Alex grabbed my shoulder.

"What are you trying to say dad? That just because we play Xbox with our friends who live all over the world, that we aren't normal? And besides, you know how Alex is with cold weather, I mean LOOK at him!" I protested, which was ignored as usual. "Now now, don't get upset dear, we left some money for you on the kitchen counter…just be back home before it gets dark." mom said as we stood there silently seething at our father, who rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Yeah we love you too." he spat before he and mom left us in our room, not even bothering to shut the door on their way out. As soon as I heard them go down the stairs, I stormed over to my bed and pulled on my black boots, ignoring the look of pity Alex sent my way. "Saphira…" he said quietly as he reached over to give me a hug, which I denied.

"No Alex, don't even start. I don't even know why they want us to make friends when we are just gonna pack up and leave anyway. You know as well as I do that they won't stop looking for us, and I don't know about you: but I'll be DAMNED if they're thinking I'm going back to being their science fair project!" I snapped, storming past my brother, down the stairs, and out the front door and into the front yard of our pale-red house.

Pulling the sleeves of my hoodie up my arms, I exposed my gloves and the sleeves of the body suit that had always been a part of me: the only part of my past I couldn't hide. As I took in the dark-black, grey and red fabric, I watched as the tribal dragons that wound themselves around my arms glowed dark-red, effectively warming me up in the near-freezing temperatures. With a sigh, I pulled the hoodie's sleeves down again as I waited for Alex, so we could begin our inevitable quest for "friends" that I was sure would sell us out in the end.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as I heard the front door slam, I turned to look at Alex, who tossed me my burnt-orange beanie that I had forgotten on my bed. "Thanks." I said as he nodded before adjusting his own hat. 'Great thanks dad, I had just gotten him talking too.' I thought sarcastically as I took in the sight of the multicolored houses and snow of our new neighborhood.

The effect of my past had affected Alex more than my own parents, leaving him reserved and quiet until he was comfortable around the people he was with: which only consisted of me so far. Giving him a hug, I led him down the sidewalk to the left, where the faint sounds of kids playing could be heard. As we got closer, we saw a pair of boys fighting with what looked like a wooden sword and a hammer. Watching the boys, I saw one was dressed in green with plastic elf ears attached to the side of his head. The other was dressed in blue and gold with a dark-blue cape and was fighting with a hammer. Sharing a look of confusion with Alex, I walked closer to the boys and took in their conversation.

"You shall die by my Warhammer Drow Elf!" the one with the hammer shouted as he swung at the other boy, who blocked with his wooden sword. "Nuh uh!" the 'elf' said as he countered the attack. "I banish thee to the Forest Realm!" the other boy shouted as he attacked with his hammer again. "What do you think they're doing?" I asked Alex, who shrugged with a confused look in his eyes: the only part of his face you could see.

"Well, whatever they're doing, it looks like fun to me." I said as we continued watching the boys fight each other. "No way! I banished you first!" the elf yelled as he hit the other boy harder than he probably should have before he backed up and pointed at him. "Ha-ha, you can't hold out much longer." he laughed as the boy dressed in blue flinched and dropped his hammer. "Help! Somebody! I can't hold out much longer!" he yelled as the elf hit him again, knocking the poor kid down in the snow. 'Okay, enough's enough.' I thought as I walked forward, ignoring Alex's attempts to keep me back, and grabbed hold of the collar of the elf's costume.

As the boy turned around in shock, I shoved him back away from the one dressed in blue, allowing him to stand up and brush himself off. "Hey! No fair, that's cheating. I'm gonna tell my mom!" the elf said as he glared at me before storming off somewhere. Hearing the crunching of snow, I turned my attention to the boy in blue, who was smiling widely at me as he put his hammer in a holster on his belt.

"Thanks kid, I didn't realize he had a health potion. My-My name is Butters the Merciful. I'm a Paladin. I live right next door to you, we should be friends." he said with a grin as he stuck his hand out for me to shake. "It's nice to meet you Butters, I'm Saphira MacManus and the abominable snowman over there is my brother Alex." I greeted, yelping as said brother dumped a fistful of snow down my shirt, causing Butters to laugh. "Saphira? That's a strange name, as well as the color of your hair." said Butters as I shrugged as I shook the snow out of my hoodie.

"Oh well, now that we're friends, you two should speak with the Wizard King! He's been talking about your arrival. The wizard lives this way, in the green house over there!" Butters said as he began leading us to a green house a little further away from where we were standing. "Wizard King?" I questioned Alex, who was watching Butters cautiously. "Must be part of their game, I'm not sure I trust these kids Saphy. Don't tell them anything about…you know." he muttered through his scarf.

"And I wasn't planning on it, I'm not stupid Alex!" I snapped as he rolled his eyes before coughing into his sleeve. "You're my big sister, I'm allowed to be defensive." he defended, making me ignore him as Butters started talking again. "Hey, where are you from?" he asked as I quickened my pace so I was walking next to him and away from Alex, to show my brother just how pissed off I was with him.

"Well, we're originally from Florida. I have no idea why my parents wanted us to move, but I guess that's okay: always fun to see new places." I said, as Butter's eyes filled with wonder before speaking again. "Do you like Colorado?" he asked as I glanced at Alex as he started coughing again. "It's a change from the ocean and sand we're used to, but I like the cold. Alex and my mom hate it though." I replied as we walked up the snow-covered driveway and onto the porch of the green house Butters was talking about.

"He doesn't talk much does he? That's alright, you can do the talking for both of you." he said as he knocked on the door. After a few seconds the door opened, revealing a rather fat boy dressed in a wizard costume. His robe was a magenta color with a dark-teal cape on his back as well as a light-blue belt with a pouch on the side, on his head was a blue pointed hat with a yellow star stitched on the front. Gripped in one of his yellow-gloved hands was a large stick that was as long as he was tall. As he took in our appearances, I couldn't help but feel as if he were sizing us up: and that was a feeling I was well-accustomed to.

"All hail the Grand Wizard!" Butters shouted as he knelt before the fat kid. 'This is the Wizard King? Well then…' I thought as he started to speak. "So you are the New Kids. Your coming was foretold by Coldwell Banker. I am the Wizard King. But the time for talk is not nigh, let me show you my kingdom." he said as he turned around and led us inside, closing the door as soon as Alex stepped through, making me wonder what sort of trouble we have somehow gotten ourselves into.


	3. Chapter 3

Looking around the living room, I saw the basics of any house: couch, TV, and a few pictures on the walls. Taking in the pictures, I saw the boy in front of us with other kids making goofy faces or just by himself, and a few had him with a rather pretty lady that I had figured to be his mother. Out of all the pictures, not once have I seen anyone that could possibly be a father figure to the boy. Me being as curious as I was, itched to ask, but that wouldn't be my place or polite at all…so I kept quiet about it.

Turning my attention from the pictures, I glanced at the news that was playing on the TV for a second before noticing the same pretty lady from the pictures sitting on the couch texting on her phone. Glancing at Alex, I saw him taking in the room the same way I had before sending a wary look in my direction before following Butters and the 'Grand Wizard' through the living room. Unlike the boys, I had actually taken a few seconds to scrape the snow off my boots before stepping further into the house.

As we passed the couch, the lady on the couch glanced up and smiled at us. "Oh, who're your new friends Eric?" she asked the boy now known as Eric, who gave her a deadpanned look. "Shut up mom, not now." he replied as he continued leading us through the house. 'What the hell?! He is ALLOWED to speak to his mom like that? If Alex or I had ever done that, we would get a belt to the ass by our father immediately.' I thought with a shocked look on my face as I stopped walking, much to Eric's annoyance.

"I'm Saphira, and this is my brother Alex, it's very nice to meet you ma'am." I greeted, causing her to smile wider at us. "My how polite you are, you two can call me Mrs. Cartman. Now run along and play, I'm sure the other children would love to meet you!" she said as she kindly waved us off towards the backyard. As we followed Eric and Butters into the kitchen, Eric stopped us with his stick. "Don't talk to her, she's not part of the game." he said simply before opening the sliding glass door and led us out into the backyard.

As soon as we stepped onto the deck, Eric spread his arms out wide towards the yard, bringing our attention to him. "Welcome…to the Kingdom of Kupa Keep." he said as Alex and I took in the creation that had once been his backyard. Pathways were set by rope held down by rocks, on the left was a large rock that none of the boys could move, so they simply called it "The Rock of Insanity" with a cardboard sign. Next to that was a sandbox sealed with a rope fence, where a boy dressed in green with medicine strapped to his chest was petting a cat.

To the right was a table with an assortment of 'armor and weapons' on it while a boy dressed in red and blue with a metal helmet on his head stood next to it shining up a wooden sword with a rag. Further down the path was a castle made from cardboard and tape with a large tent set up in the middle, suspended from two of the towers was a flag that read 'Kupa Keep' in bright-red paint. Standing next to the tent was a kid with long blonde hair in a crown and a dress with an orange hood covering their face. I couldn't tell if this kid was a boy or a girl from this distance so I'll just call them 'she' for now.

All in all, this was awesome, maybe Alex and I can make some real friends here…until we were forced to leave before I could be discovered again. "This is awesome! You guys built this?" I asked Butters, who nodded with a smile. "Sure did! Well, it took us three days but we made it." he said as Eric smirked in pride at my comment, while Alex continued to gaze at the kingdom in amazement before Eric led us further into the yard and toward the weapons table.

"Our weapons shop here is tended by Clyde, a level 14 warrior." he said as he introduced the boy in red before walking off to the sandbox. At Clyde's slight wave, I couldn't help the shocked look on my face as Alex nodded his own greeting. Smiling at this, I gave Clyde my own smile and wave before following Eric over to the sandbox. As I took in the appearance of the boy petting the cat, I saw he had diabetic medicine strapped to his chest as well as his tongue sticking slightly out of his mouth. 'How is his tongue not frozen?' I wondered as Eric began telling us about this section of the kingdom.

"Here you can see our massive stables, overseen by the level 9 ranger Scott Malkinson, who has the power of diabetes." he said as I raised an eyebrow. 'Either this is an act, or he really acts this way with his friends. Oh well, who am I to judge?' I thought as I nodded to the boy with a grin, who smiled back and waved at us. Catching our attention again, Eric led us over to the 'castle' and stopped next to the kid in the white and purple dress I saw when we first entered the backyard.

"And here of course, is the breathtaking and lovely Princess Kenny: the fairest maiden in all the kingdom." he introduced, making me feel extremely embarrassed for assuming this kid was a girl. And apparently it showed, judging by the snicker Alex gave off, causing me to elbow him in the ribs as Kenny started playing with the hair on his wig. "Don't ask why Kenny wanted to be a chick, it's just how he seems to be rolling right now." Eric mumbled to us from behind his hand as he glanced between us and Kenny a few times.

As Alex and I took in the other kids and the kingdom, I felt an intense burning in my back that sent chills down my spine. With a sudden twinge of fear, I rapidly checked myself over to make sure nothing had changed or come out of place. When I found nothing amiss to my relief, I turned around to find Kenny staring at me intently, as if I were a germ under a microscope: another feeling I was well-accustomed to. After a few seconds of our staring match, Kenny turned his attention elsewhere, causing the burning feeling to immediately go away.

'The hell was that about?' I wondered as Alex and I approached Eric and Butters again. "You have been sought out New Kids because humans everywhere are in great danger. I need something from you, and in return, I am prepared to allow you into my kingdom. I know you two are very excited, it's time for your first quest but first: please tell us thy names." Eric said as he gestured to us. "I am Saphira MacManus, and this overgrown tick is my brother Alex." I introduced, ducking under Alex's arm without looking as he swung at me: much to the boys' surprise.

"The hell kind of name is MacManus?" Eric questioned with a snicker, I didn't let it bother me though. "The name itself is Irish: my family couldn't decide whether or not to use an Irish name, a Scottish name, or a German name, considering we're all three." I replied as Eric suddenly became excited with my answer. "You're German too?! How do you see Hitler and the Jews?! Do you dream of massive genocide?! The Holocaust?! Or weapons of mass destruction?! C'mon damnit answer meeee!" he rapidly questioned and quite frankly, it was a bit creepy, not only because he broke character so quickly…but also because he caught the attention of everyone in the backyard.

"I see Hitler as someone who had a twisted mind as to come up with something as brutal as The Holocaust, the Jews don't deserve any more discrimination, and no I don't dream of weapons of mass destruction or genocide." I said as Eric looked at me as if I had physically hit him. "How the FUCK do you not agree with Hitler?! You know what: I don't even think you're German at all! Just some lying bitch who claims to be part of the greatest fucking race known to man!" he shouted, causing me to take a few steps backwards as Alex cowered behind me at the intensity of his yelling.

As he glared at me, I stared right back with a fearless look on my face and knew just how to not only win this argument, but knew how to cut his ego down a few notches too. "Natürlich bin ich Deutsch, warum nicht ich sein?" I asked with a cocky smirk, causing his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates before he grinned and slapped me hard on the back before returning to character as the Grand Wizard of Kupa Keep.


	4. Chapter 4

Once that awkward situation was out of the way, and after everyone had gone back to their business, Eric addressed us in a much calmer tone of voice: though I was convinced it was part of the act. "Very well Douchebag and MacManus, you will now choose a class: fighter, mage, thief or Jew." he said as he showed us the attire for each class and I couldn't bring myself to feel surprised that Jew was a class.

Ignoring Alex's warning looks, I chose fighter without hesitation, leaving my brother to choose the thief class considering he pretty much looked like one already with how his eyes being the only part of him that was visible. "We welcome to our kingdom: MacManus the Fighter, and Douchebag the Thief." Eric announced, causing Butters to jump and cheer before standing with a smile on his face, though I was pissed this kid had the nerve to call my brother a douchebag.

"Now, please go visit the weapons shop. Procure yourselves weapons and we shall teach you to fight." he said, pointing us in the direction of Clyde's weapon shop. Sharing a look with Alex: who started coughing again, I led the way over to Clyde, who immediately asked if we'd like to see his wares. Taking half of the money that mom had given us: I bought myself a sturdy, well-made wooden sword that was pretty sharp on the sides.

Watching Alex, I saw him buy a wooden dagger that looked like it could do some damage if used right. Testing the weight of my new weapon, I slashed the air with precision that earned me a glare and a shove from Alex, while the rest of the kids seemed to be impressed. "You are NOT supposed to draw attention to yourself! Or did you forget that last time you ignored the rules?!" Alex hissed in my ear before I shoved a handful of snow in his face, making him cough and sputter. "Lay off Alex! You know damn well what the rules were, and as far as I'm concerned this doesn't count." I snapped, ignoring Clyde's curious looks he sent my way as Eric approached us.

"Ah you have procured weapons, nice. It is now time for us to teach you to fight: I want you two to take your new weapons, and with the bravery of noble Knights…beat up Clyde and Butters." he said, shocking the two boys in question. "What?" Clyde asked as Butters became nervous. "Kick their asses New Kids." Eric said and Clyde suddenly glared at him, not that I blamed him at all. "What'd I do?" Clyde asked, causing Eric to round on him with an angry look on his face.

"I'm the KING Clyde, and the King wishes to be amused. Go on New Kids, kick their asses." he encouraged before walking off to a ring of rope large enough for people to spar in. "Oh ha-hamburgers! I-I don't want to fight you g-guys! You're nice and we're supposed to be fr-friends." Butters whimpered as he fiddled with his hammer, making me feel kind of bad for him. "Don't worry Butters, if Alex hurts you too bad, he'll have ME to deal with when we get home." I said as I tossed a smile and wink in his direction, causing his face to turn as red as Clyde's shirt as the four of us walked over to where Eric was standing.

"By the way Saphira, what did you say to Cartman earlier?" Clyde asked as I turned my attention to him. "Oh that, all I said was 'Of course I'm German, why wouldn't I be?' I tend to speak in Gaelic or German when people question my heritage or piss me off." I said as he nodded. "Is that why your hair is that color?" he asked as he and I stood on the sidelines while Alex started fighting Butters. "No, nobody knows why my hair is burgundy so I just kinda roll with it." I replied as Alex suddenly appeared behind Butters and stabbed him hard in the back with his dagger.

Returning to his spot, Alex put his dagger away as Butters lay in the dirt and cried like the little kid he was. 'You and I are going to have a talk when we get home little brother.' I thought as I glared at him, who flinched and moved to stand by the Grand Wizard while Clyde and I took our positions in the ring. Drawing my sword, I smiled evilly at Clyde before throwing my sword into the air. As it spun around, I slipped into the Tiger fighting stance and snatched the sword by its hilt in my right hand without even looking at it.

Keeping my grin, I glanced at the other kids who all stood frozen in shock with the exception of Alex, who rolled his eyes. Returning my gaze to my opponent, I flicked my eyebrows at him, causing him to snap out of his daze and draw his own sword. "I'm gonna kick your ass Saphira!" Clyde said as he glared at me. "Clyde you have to wait your turn." Eric said as he adjusted his hat. "That's lame." Clyde said as he flipped him off, while I stayed frozen in my stance, waiting to begin. "No Clyde, it's like olden times, you have to wait your turn like in the Middle Ages Clyde! I know its lame, but that's how we're fucking doing it." Eric said as he glared at Clyde, who scoffed in annoyance before taking his own stance.

"Alright MacManus, bash Clyde's face in, don't be shy." Eric encouraged, oblivious to the warning look Alex sent my way. 'This kid needs to chill, I'm not stupid enough to actually bash his face in.' I thought as I narrowed my eyes at Clyde for a split second before charging him. Dashing forward, I feigned to the left before slashing to the right, slashing Clyde's shoulder before jumping back to my original spot. "Oh hell yeah, Clyde's your bitch." Eric cheered as Clyde rolled his shoulder before baring his teeth in anger.

"Alright, since Clyde's wearing armor, you need to hit him as hard as you can." Eric said as he motioned for me to attack again. "I'm sorry about this Clyde." I said as he became confused for a second before I dashed at him again and whacked him in the helmet hard enough to leave a decent-sized dent in the tin, making poor Clyde cry out in pain and stumble backwards. Returning to my spot, I watched as Clyde ran at me and tried to land a hit: only to end up being blocked. Seeing as I pissed him off, he tried to attack me again, gasping in shock as I caught his wrist, rendering him unable to attack or escape as I pulled him forward and rammed my head into his own in a savage head-butt.

"Holy shit dude! Your sister's fucking brutal!" I heard Eric say to Alex as the other kids murmured in agreement. Letting go of Clyde, I smirked at him before finishing him off with a shoulder to the chest, knocking the wind out of him as he lay in the dirt and whined in pain. Feeling bad, I put my sword away and helped poor Clyde to his feet and dusted him off. Even though he lost horribly, he was a good sport about it as he shared a fist-bump with me before Eric started laughing rather obnoxiously and mocking poor Clyde.

"Holy shit that was awesome! You were all like BRAMMGMG! And then Clyde and Butters were like ARGH NOO! HAHAHA" Eric laughed holding his sides, while Clyde rolled his eyes and Butters nudged the snow with a downcast look on his face. "Okay okay, the two of you have proven yourselves worthy. Now, come inside the war tent and I shall let you see the relic." Eric said as he motioned for Alex and I to follow him inside the tent the castle was built around while Clyde returned to his post.

Stepping inside the dark tent, Alex and I approached Eric who gestured to a tree branch sitting on a pedestal under a lamp. "Well here it is: the reason why humans and elves are trapped in a never-ending war. The relic for which both human and elf are willing to die, behold New Kids: The Stick of Truth. Just two days ago we reclaimed The Stick from the elves, our kingdom was dying but now it thrives: for whoever controls The Stick, controls the universe." he explained as Alex and I shared a 'is he serious' look as he suddenly looked away from the branch with his hands in front of his face: as if he were fighting off an intense light.

"Don't gaze at it too long! For its power is too much for mere mortals to look at!" he said as he opened his eyes and turned around. 'Then I guess my predicament is a good thing in this situation.' I thought as I turned around along with Alex as Eric continued. "Now that you have seen The Stick of Truth, let us discuss your dues. Being a member of my kingdom costs nine ninety-five for the first week, four dollars of which is tax deductible-" he started before Butters came storming into the tent screaming that the elves were attacking.

"Oh my god! Defensive positions!" Eric ordered as he stormed out of the tent as everyone rushed to defend the kingdom. "Well, this day just keeps getting better and better." I said to Alex, who nodded as we both rushed out to join in the fun, happy to act like the kids we were and not have to worry about anything bad happening.


	5. Chapter 5

As we stormed out of the tent, I was shocked to find several kids dressed as elves fighting the inhabitants of the kingdom already. Taking our places next to Eric, Alex and I drew our weapons and prepared to defend the fortress as Clyde left his post and stood by us. "Man the gate! Don't let them through!" Eric ordered as Alex ran forward and moved to close the gate, only to be stopped by a pair of elves with swords.

"Give us The Stick humans!" a blonde elf shouted as a dozen or so of his followers stood behind him, ready to fight. "Fuck you Drow Elf! Come and get it!" Eric taunted, causing the lead elf to growl in anger before he and the rest of the elves rushed the backyard. "Clyde! Guard The Stick of Truth while we defend the fortress! MacManus! Back him up!" he shouted as Clyde and I ran inside the tent and prepared to defend The Stick as the sounds of battle increased as more elves invaded the kingdom.

"However satisfying it would be, I'm not willing to get grounded because Alex got his ass kicked." I said to Clyde as we drew our weapons and waited to see if any elves were coming. However, the both of us failed to realize this was a double-doored tent, until we became surrounded by the elves that snuck in behind us. As they stared us down, an elf wearing brown robes and a headdress made of twigs suddenly started harshly tugging on the lead elf's sleeve and pointing at me, not giving me a good feeling at all.

"That's her! That's her! The one foretold in prophecy!" he shouted as all the elves stared at me before one of them came up behind me and gagged me with a bandanna. Despite his best efforts, Clyde couldn't do anything to help on account of him being surrounded, giving the elves free reign to take The Stick, blindfold me, and slip out the backyard without being noticed by anyone else: how they managed that, I have no idea. While I fought to escape, I had to continuously remind myself that this was just a game, and that they would let me go eventually.

"Drow Elves fall back! Retreat I say!" the lead elf shouted as they dragged me to where I believed to be across the street and a couple houses down, before they guided me into a new backyard. Once the gate was shut, the blindfold was removed, allowing me to take in the similar but new surroundings. This backyard was set up in a similar way that Eric's had been, however this one had more natural plant life and a treehouse acted as the castle. As I took in the surroundings, I couldn't help but feel nervous because the number of elves in this kingdom greatly outmatched the residents of Eric's kingdom.

As my captors moved me along, the curious elves emitted noises of shock before actually KNEALING as we passed by. 'Okay, why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly?' I wondered as I tried to get the bandanna out of my mouth, only to stop trying as my captors halted me before a wooden platform, where a throne made from sharpened sticks, branches and a lawn chair sat. As I took in the one sitting in the throne, I couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised: unlike Eric, this boy was dressed in red and gold with green gloves and a green Ushanka.

Resting on top of his head was a crown made from sticks, standing to his left was the lead elf that had led the attack on Kupa Keep, and to his right was a human dressed in a similar fashion as Clyde had been. As the elf king took in my appearance, I glared harshly at him, daring him to attack before his gaze turned to my captors. "So it's true then, our Savior has come at last. Release her, so that she may be able to speak." he said as his elves untied my bandanna and wrists, allowing me to actually move on my own.

"Welcome to my kingdom Savior, I hope my elves have treated you well." he said as he smiled at me, making me like him better than Eric already. "Thanks, but I have no idea what you mean by 'Savior', my brother and I were sort of dragged into this game of yours." I said, causing him as well as the two boys next to him to gasp in surprise instead of laugh like I had expected. Glancing at his friends for a second, the elf king suddenly jumped down from his throne and approached me.

"Walk with me New Kid, we have much to discuss." he said as he started walking in the direction of the large tree towards the back of the yard. Realizing I didn't have much choice in the matter, I adjusted my beanie and followed him over to the tree and up the ladder of the large treehouse. Once I got to the top, I stared in awe at the fact that I could see all of South Park from up here: damn this kid had it nice. Spotting the Elf King overlooking the town, I walked over and stood by him like he asked.

"I assume that Wizard Fatass has told you about the war we are in?" he asked, not breaking his gaze from the snow-covered town. "Wizard Fatass? Oh! You mean Eric, yes. He told me how you are fighting over The Stick, he didn't say anything about a Savior though." I replied, sending him a confused look as he scoffed in annoyance.

"Typical of that douchebag to leave out the important parts. This war has been going on for nearly three weeks, and since then neither of us have won or lost. It was then my most trusted enforcer Stan, came to me with a prophecy: When the snow sparkles white and the innocent are in turmoil, a Savior shall rise from the lands beyond. This Savior shall bring peace between both races, and save the realms from an army of darkness spawned from the deepest depths of insanity." he explained, making a lump form in my throat and rocks to settle in my gut: not because of what he said, but of how close that last part resembled the ones responsible for my family's move to South Park.

Brushing the feeling off as best I could, I looked over at him as he watched for my reaction. "And you say this 'Savior' is me?" I asked as he turned to face me before looking down at his feet awkwardly. "W-Well the prophecy said nothing about the Savior being as…pretty as you, but who else could it be besides your brother who, according to my elves: doesn't talk much and is younger than you are?" he said, looking away with a splotch of red on his face. 'Don't get choked up! Don't do it!' I scolded myself as I cleared my throat, drawing his attention back to me.

"I'm sorry: it's just that…I'm hardly given compliments. People usually see me as a freak of nature because of my hair and worse, this is a kinda new experience for me. Having friends that can actually see me, and not judge me for how I am, I'm so used to being abused and bullied that it's come to the point where I don't care anymore. So this whole 'being accepted by others' thing has me confused, sorry if I sound like such a sap." I said, turning away so he couldn't see the tears that threated to escape as I quickly wiped them away.

What happened next came as such a shock to me, that I had almost lost control of myself: he reached over while my back was turned and hugged me. It was so unexpected and sudden, that my fight-or-flight instinct kicked in just enough for the body suit under my hoodie to shimmer and twitch before settling for a slight vibrating. "Are you alright New Kid? You're trembling." he said as he hugged me tighter, clearly getting the wrong message, not that I could blame him for it. 'I wish it was me trembling, instead of trying to decide whether or not to rip you apart.' I thought sadly as I nodded, effectively causing him to let go of me.

"I'm fine, just a bit chilly is all: the temperatures in Miami were never this extreme." I lied, silently sighing in relief as he bought it before smiling at me again. "Must be quite a change for you and your family, I'm Kyle Broflovski: fourth grader, gamer, King of the Elves and the only Jew in South Park." he introduced as he stuck his hand out with a grin on his face. "Saphira MacManus: fourth grader, gamer, daredevil, hot-blooded Floridian and professional fighter." I replied, taking his hand in a firm shake with a smile of my own, causing the splotch of red to return to his face.

'He's actually cute when he isn't playing the King Elf card.' I thought with a mischievous smirk, causing Kyle to become a bit nervous. "Well then Kyle Broflovski, I think we should prove to your friends that nothing is going on up here, we have been up here a good ten minutes after all." I snickered, which turned into a full-blown laugh as his face became completely covered in a dark-red blush. Coughing loudly, he started climbing down the ladder and back towards his followers, as I decided a bit of showing off was in order: now that Alex wasn't here to stop me.


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as Kyle reached the bottom of the ladder, he as well as the rest of his followers looked around for me in confusion. Holding back a giggle, I watched them look for me from my perch on the railing of the treehouse. 'How the hell do they NOT see me up here?' I wondered as I put two fingers in my mouth and gave a shrill whistle, startling the kids as they all looked up and spotted me.

"What the hell are you doing up there?! Do you WANT to fall and break your neck?!" Kyle shouted up at me with a worried look on his face. "Yeah dude! Get down from there before you get us all in trouble!" the human called Stan yelled as I crouched down on the rail with a devilish grin on my face. To my amusement and the horror of the boys, I jumped from the two-story high treehouse and managed to complete three front-flips before landing on my feet directly in front of them.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I teased as they all stared at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Dude…that was…awesome!" Stan cheered, snapping everyone out of their stupor and erupted in applause. Laughing awkwardly, I scratched the back of my neck with a blush on my face. "Holy shit! You weren't kidding when you said you were a daredevil. Therefore, as King of the Elves: I hereby welcome you as a member of my kingdom, and hope you would consider hanging out with us at school." Kyle said as Stan rapidly nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah! That would be awesome to have you hang out with us: you would have to deal with Cartman's racism and Kenny's perverted nature though." Stan said, almost looking ashamed of the two in question. At the mention of Kenny, I involuntarily shuddered at the memory of how his glare made me feel as if I were on fire. "That's alright, Eric and I are on good terms so far, but Kenny doesn't seem to like me very much." I replied, shocking both boys as they looked at each other. "What's wrong?" I asked, confusion written all over my face as Stan shook his head before smiling at me.

"Cartman is never nice to anyone, we are only nice to him because he doesn't have a dad and his mom's a slut. So to hear you say he was nice to you is suspicious because he is infamous for really mean schemes that usually put people in the hospital. It's also shocking to hear that Kenny doesn't like you: he's usually all over pretty girls like you. Don't worry though: we'll talk to him for you." Stan said as he clapped me on the shoulder. "Don't let Wendy hear you say that dude, I don't want to have to go to Saphira's funeral after we just met her. And I'm not looking forward to seeing you heartbroken again." Kyle warned, causing Stan's face to pale almost as blank as the snow.

"Who's Wendy?" I asked as Stan fiddled with his helmet, running a hand through his ebony-black hair at the same time. "Wendy is Stan's on and off girlfriend. She is the most popular girl in school with her posse of girls, and she won't hesitate to let you have it if she feels like you are trying to steal him from her. Which unfortunately she will, considering you're hanging out with us from now on: so don't be surprised if she tries to attack you. She even kicked Cartman's ass once and trust us, when she's pissed: she is terrifying." Kyle explained as I covered up a snort by sniffling. 'So she's one of THOSE types is she? Well, she's got another thing coming if she thinks I'm going to back down like some mongrel dog.' I thought as I stared fearlessly at them.

"I think I can handle myself if that happens, and no offense Stan: but if she starts a fight, I will not be responsible for what happens. Because unlike her, I have lived in a very dangerous city my entire life: I have taken down soldiers five times my size, I think I can handle a group of fourth graders in a petty fight." I said, kicking myself in the ass for saying that. Just as Stan was about to reply, we were interrupted by a "SAPHIRA ALEXANDRIA MACMANUS! GET YOUR ASS HOME! NOW!" something I had been hoping to avoid ever since I arrived in South Park.

"Fuck!" I hissed as I rapidly scooped up my armor and sword and turned to the boys with a slightly panicked look on my face. "Holy shit, who the fuck was that?!" Kyle questioned as everyone in the backyard stopped what they were doing and looked over at us with wide fearful eyes. "Stan, Kyle: meet my dad." I said as I gave them a rushed wave goodbye before running and jumping the fence, landing in a snowdrift, sending the powdery substance everywhere.

Taking a quick glance for cars, I dashed across the street and up my driveway: where dad stood as red-faced as could be with his hands on his hips. While my mom looked out the front door, staring at me with a disappointed scowl etched across her face. 'Hasn't even been a day.' I sighed as I tromped into the house, preparing myself for the inevitable scream-fest that was about to begin, and judging by the looks on my parent's faces: this was going to be a particularly nasty one.

True to my suspicions, I didn't have to wait long before dad came storming into the house angrier than a wet hornet. Glancing at mom, I knew that I was on my own on this one, not like THAT was anything new. As he slammed the door hard enough to rattle the windows, I barely had time to blink before I took a fist to the jaw. "What the FUCK was that?!" he snarled as he pointed in the direction of Kyle's house. Rolling my jaw, I got up off the floor and glared at both my parents.

"You told me to make friends, that was what that was." I spat, causing his red face to turn purple in rage as he snatched me by the throat and slammed me into the wall. "Do you KNOW how hard it was for us to sneak you out?! Do you?! Of course not, you're too busy showing off for people who will lead them right to us!" he roared, causing spittle to land on my face. All his rage was starting to piss me off, and the fact that my mother stood by and allowed this to happen was only adding fuel to a very dangerous flame.

"It was just a jump, and as far as I'm concerned…you have no right to do this to me." I coughed as he tightened his grip, not allowing me to breathe as he put his face directly in mine. "I brought you into this world girl, and if it weren't for the fact that you are an asset: I would gladly take you out of it." he growled as he carried me by the back of my neck over to a closed door near the kitchen. Throwing open the door, he revealed the pitch darkness of the basement: a place I didn't particularly want to go. Holding me up by my hoodie, he couldn't feel my body suit crawling and wavering as it responded to my internal rage.

"Now grovel in the basement like the monster you always were! You think those kids care about you?! Wait until they find out what you really are, see how much they like you after that!" he snarled as he delivered a swift kick to my ass, forcing me to skip the stairs all together as I crashed into the concrete floor with a yelp before I glared savagely up at my father, who's expression melted from enraged to one of raw fear.

"You better watch how you treat me father, one day: you will catch me in a VERY bad mood." I said ominously as he slammed the door shut, leaving me in the cold and damp basement, lit only by the single window near the ceiling. Resting my back up against the wall, I rested my arms on my knees, put my head on top of them and cried. As I sat curled against the wall, I failed to notice the shadow on the floor, and the pair of eyes watching me from the dusty window.


	7. Chapter 7

I had no idea how long I had been down here, all I could tell was that it was pitch dark both down here and outside. I had stopped crying a while ago, now reduced to sniffles and a state of self-loathing as I heard the rest of my family retire up to bed. 'Why? What did I ever do to them?' I wondered as I sat there in the dark, listening to the wind howl outside.

After a couple more hours of sitting in the freezing basement, I silently crept up the stairs and used one of the two bobby pins in my hair to pick the lock on the door. Once the door was unlocked, I quietly snuck upstairs to mine and Alex's room where I removed my beanie, hoodie and pants: leaving me in the body suit I had kept hidden. The torso consisted of a dark-black jacket with an Assassin's Creed style beaked hood that glowed a dim dark-red underneath.

The hood was down, slightly exposing extra stiff flaps of torn fabric on the back of my shoulders, making it look like I was spreading a pair of shredded wings. Down the sleeves was a pair of tribal red dragons that glowed dimly: slightly helping the hood in lighting up the darkness around me. The jacket was unzipped, revealing the same dark-red of the interior and the gray of the attached undershirt. The pants were skintight leather with twin pieces of stray fabric trailing down from my belt down to the backs of my knees: giving the appearance of a tail.

Down my legs was a tribal fire design that glowed the same dark-red as the rest of my outfit that looked like Connor Kenway's black and red hoodie from Assassin's Creed. The entire body suit made me look like a Goth kid or an assassin you hear parents tell their kids about to get them to behave, but I really didn't have a choice as to how it looked. Turning my attention from myself to the bedroom, I saw that Alex was sleeping like the dead and the heat lamps for the snakes had been turned on.

'At least he didn't forget.' I thought as I quietly opened the window and climbed out and on top of the roof, after I shut the window so I wouldn't wake my brother. As I sat on the rough slate of the roof, I stared at the wind as it swirled the loose snow around: making shapes and patterns only it knew the meaning of. Looking up, I couldn't stop the breathless gasp as I saw the violet-purple sky coated with the infinite number of stars and planets and the teal-green of the northern lights as they flashed across the sky.

In Florida, you would be lucky to see the Orion constellation and a few stars: here you couldn't tell where one constellation ended and another began. Seeing the vastness of twinkling stars made me forget all the wrong in the world for a minute as I looked up and felt as if I were flying. Leaning back on my hands, my face split into a wide grin as I saw a shooting star fall across the sky and land somewhere over the mountains.

'Oh little Wishing Star, please grant this lonely soul this one request: send me a friend who understands the weight of the world, one who won't be afraid of me but will stick by me until the end. I don't think I can stand living this way much longer.' I wished, placing my hand on my chest in hopes that it will somehow help. I had been so absorbed in my one wish, that I didn't notice myself crying again until a particularly cold blast of air smacked me in the face, turning my tears to ice in no time at all.

Wiping them away, I moved to stand up and head back inside, when the 'whoosh' of fabric and a solid 'thud' caught my attention. Fearing it was my dad or one of my pursuers, I rolled over on my feet and took a fighting stance, preparing to defend myself against the intruder. What I saw couldn't have surprised me more: standing on my roof was a boy about my age dressed in what looked like a superhero costume.

He was cloaked in a dark-purple cape, with a lavender suit on underneath, he had on olive-colored gloves around his hands and brown boots on his feet. Across his chest was a lime-green 'M' and a bright-green question mark on a spring attached to his hood, making him look comically confused. I couldn't make out most of his face because it was covered by a black mask: all I could make out were piercing blue eyes and a cautious scowl for his mouth. But what made me kinda want to laugh was the fact that he wore a pair of white underwear over his pants, only I didn't laugh as we stared each other down.

For a few minutes neither of us moved, as if frozen in time, while the wind played harmlessly with our clothing: giving a classic movie image of the hero staring down the villain before the final battle. Gulping nervously, I decided I would speak first, keeping my stance in case he made a move to attack me. "Who are you?" I questioned as he narrowed his eyes for a second, as if he was surprised that I had spoken first. "My identity must remain a secret: however, you may refer to me as Mysterion." he said in a rough voice, as if someone were rubbing gravel on sandpaper.

"Well 'Mysterion', what are you doing here, and how did you get on my roof?" I asked, relaxing my stance a bit. "You are not normal, dangerous even: no normal fourth grader can do the things you do. I am an angel that watches over this town at night so tell me before I start assuming: are you friend or foe?" he questioned with a glare, making me gasp in fear and stumble backwards. Unfortunately for me, I had stepped on black ice, causing me to slip off the roof with a startled squeak.

Before I could hit the ground, I felt something grab hold of my wrist, stopping my fall instantly. Looking up, I saw the blue eyes of Mysterion as he helped me back onto the roof. 'Holy shit, I didn't even see him move! I suppose I could tell him a tiny bit of the truth, considering he did just save my life.' I thought as I nodded my gratitude to him as he moved to stand in front of me with that same cautious look in his eyes.

With a sigh, I turned to look over at the dark silhouettes of the mountains that surrounded the town. "Whether or not I'm a friend or foe depends on you, I mean this town and her residents no harm: but if you were to attack me, then I have no choice but to defend myself." I said as I sat down, not really caring if he followed suit or not. "Now let me ask you this Mysterion, seeing as you are a superhero and keep this town safe, what is your superpower?" I joked, not really expecting an answer from him, but there was something: something in his eyes that I myself see every day in the mirror.

"That is not for you to know." he said simply, annoying me a little bit. "You don't have to tell me, but don't assume anything about me. This may come as a surprise to you, but you're not the only one burdened with a curse you never wanted." I said, watching as his stoic persona vanished, only to be replaced with a wide-eyed look.

"How did you-" he started, only to be interrupted by the faintest rays of sunlight creeping up over the mountains, blinding both of us momentarily. "Maybe if you earn my trust I will tell you mine if you tell me yours, but be warned Mysterion: my trust with this particular subject is hard to earn and easy to lose." I said, turning to face him, only to find him gone…with only a pair of footprints in the snow where he used to be.

'The fuck am I doing telling a stranger this?! Now he'll probably work to gain my trust, just so he could stab me in the back and sell me out.' I scolded myself as I climbed back inside and slipped into bed without waking Alex. Even though my mind was screaming at me for my limitless stupidity, a very small part of my instinct told me I could trust this kid, but with how much remained to be seen.


	8. Chapter 8

I was jolted out of my semi-peaceful sleep by Alex shaking me, only to have my hoodie hit me in the face as soon as I sat up. "Alex? What the hell did you do that for?" I asked in a groggy voice as I looked at him, surprised to find him already dressed. "Mom said if I didn't get you up, we would both be late for school." he said through his scarf, making my eyes widen before I jumped out of bed and threw my hoodie and beanie on.

As I slipped my pants over the bottom half of my body suit, I saw Alex glaring at me out of the corner of my eye. "Before you even start assuming shit: no I didn't show anyone, but you know as well as I do that people WILL find out eventually. This isn't something that's easy to hide from people Alex, especially in such a small town." I said as I put on my boots and grabbed my backpack off the floor and slipped it on while walking downstairs, brushing my bedhead out until it was a shiny and straight waterfall as I did.

Grabbing some toast, I didn't look at either of my parents as Alex and I walked out the door and over to the bus stop. "They are going to get when they deserve Saphy." he said as he gave me a hug, letting go as we came to the bus stop: where Eric, Stan, Kyle and Kenny were already waiting. 'Good, at least we didn't miss the bus.' I thought in relief as I jogged over to my friends with a smile.

"Morning guys!" I greeted, making the boys stop their conversation and look over at us and greeted us in their own ways. Seeing as Alex was rolling his eyes at something Eric said, I decided to walk over and stand beside Kenny: who looked a bit lonely as nobody bothered to talk to him. "Sorry for being mean yesterday Saphira." Kenny said in a muffled voice as he turned to me, allowing me to see that all but his eyes, nose, and a few blonde hairs were covered by the hood of his tattered orange parka.

"That's alright Kenny, you didn't know me and it must've been weird to have a girl join in an all-boys game." I replied, sending a questioning look at the others as they stared at me in surprise. "What?" I asked as Stan snapped out of his stupor before replying. "Usually we have to translate for Kenny, yet you understood him perfectly." he said as Kyle nodded in agreement. "It's really not that hard to understand him, Alex talks that way all the time." I said as Eric suddenly started laughing, drawing our attention over to him.

"Kenny's family is so poor, that they had to put their cardboard box up for second mortgage." he said, causing Alex, Stan and Kyle to laugh while I frowned as Kenny clenched his fists and glared at the fat kid angrily. Before he could go punch Eric, I put my hand on his shoulder as I moved into the fat kid's view. "Lay off him Eric, that kind of teasing isn't cool." I said as all four boys stopped laughing while Eric glared at me. "Fuck off MacManus! You don't know a good joke from a bad one, and you WILL respect my authoritay!" he snapped, causing a glare of my own to appear on my face as we glared at each other.

"You don't have to stick up for me: he does this all the time." Kenny said as he tried to pull me back, while Stan and Kyle gulped nervously as they watched the tense scene unfold. "Lay off the poor jokes, or I'll have to put you in your place in German again." I said with a daring look on my face. "You don't have the balls." Eric smirked as he stomped over so that he was directly in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex face-palm as I grinned wickedly at Eric, unnerving him a bit.

"Ich kann keine Kugeln, aber zumindest ich nicht gehen lustig machen über meine Freunde, wenn Sie sich das Plakat-Kind für Beschimpfungen ... butter sind!" I said laughing, causing Alex to snicker too, leaving everyone but Eric beyond confused at what I had said. The funniest part about it was how red he turned as he tried to come up with a good comeback, only to stumble and catch on his words.

"S-Screw you, you fucking bitch!" he finally settled on as he pouted in his spot with his arms crossed over his chest and his lip pushed outwards, causing us to laugh tenfold. "What?! What did you say? C'mon if it has that kind of effect on Cartman, I want to know!" Kyle said excitedly as Eric glared at him. "She said 'I may not have balls, but at least I don't go making fun of my friends when you yourself are the poster-child for verbal abuse…butterball!" Alex translated quietly, making me jump in surprise as he actually spoke to them, and I wasn't the only shocked one, the rest of the boys were too.

Before anyone could reply, the bus showed up and delivered us to school, where I hoped for two things: to make friends, and for nobody to discover the secret I ever-so-desperately tried to hide. Once the bus let us off, I took in the bright-yellow and grey building and kids of many different age groups that waited outside and played in the snow. Seeing as how I couldn't find anyone I knew besides Clyde and Butters: who were overjoyed to see me for some reason, I chose to hang out with Kenny after I spotted him sitting on the icy steps all by himself.

Plopping down next to him, I shot him a grin at his surprised and confused look. "Hey Kenny." I greeted as his confusion changed into a smile, judging by the way his eyes crinkled up. "Oh, hey Saphira, what's up?" he asked as I shrugged my shoulders while watching Alex enter the school with a bunch of second graders. "Well the only thing I could see that's up is the grey sky and the flag." I teased, laughing as he gave me a shove, almost knocking me off the steps.

"Seriously though: I noticed you here by yourself and thought I'd sit here for a bit." I said, standing back up as the bell rang while looking down at my schedule. "Whose class do you have?" he asked as he walked with me down the locker-filled hallways of the school. "I have Mr. Garrison." I replied as his eyes lit up and I thought I saw Kyle do a small victory dance, but I couldn't be sure. "We have him too: I can show you where his classroom is, but first-" he said as he suddenly jumped on me and engulfed me in a bear hug, almost knocking us both to the floor in the process.

"Thank you for sticking up for me." he muttered so that only I could hear him. Just before he let go, he quickly groped my chest before literally SKIPPING down the hall. "God DAMN you Kenny!" I yelled red-faced as I sprinted down the hall after him, ignoring the rest of the kids' laughing as I focused on my orange-clad target. Turning around at the sound of his name, his eyes widened considerably at how close to him I was getting.

"Sh-Shit!" he yelped as he ran full-speed and into a classroom with the name 'Mr. Garrison' on the door. Stepping through the door, I walked up to the front of the class and introduced myself to everyone. "Very well Saphira, you can go ahead and take the empty seat next to Kenny." Mr. Garrison said as his creepy hand puppet pointed to a seat next to Kenny, showing me where to sit as I wove my way through the occupied desks, ignoring the wolf-whistles and jealous glares being sent my way.

As soon as I was settled, Mr. Garrison began teaching a lesson that had absolutely NO relation to the topic he was supposed to teach: which was math. As I dug through my backpack, I found Alex's class schedule: how it got there I didn't know, and I couldn't wait until recess so I could give it back to him. 'I wonder how the rest of this day will go, but knowing MY luck: either really good or really bad.' I thought as I tried not to fall asleep as Mr. Garrison continued to drone on about some actor in a show called TrueBlood: a show I could already tell that all of us were WAY too young to even consider watching while I waited for the bell to ring, granting us freedom of the hell better known as Mr. Garrison's class.


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as the bell rang, I quickly grabbed my things and followed Clyde out the door to where his locker was, where my own would be. Punching in the code, I was happy to find my friends' lockers were in the same general area: allowing me to see and talk to them between classes. As I dug around in my backpack for my math book, I heard somebody call my name from a few feet down the hallway.

Glancing up, I grinned at the sight of the boys as they stopped in front of me and gave me their own greetings. "Hey Saphira, we're all heading to lunch, you want to meet us there?" Stan asked as Kyle gave me a smile and a nod. "Sure, I don't know that many people anyway, so I think hanging out with you guys would be great." I said as Eric rolled his eyes, only to have Kyle shove him before he could say anything.

"Sweet, see you at lunch." Stan replied, engaging me in a completely random handshake that we were both improvising on, before he and the rest of the boys disappeared down and through a large set of double doors at the end of the hallway. Once they were gone, I placed my book in my locker: only to have someone forcefully slam the metal door shut, right on my fingers. Letting out a loud yelp of pain, I glared at an ink haired girl in a purple jacket with a bunch of other prissy girls standing behind her.

Sucking on the blood that was dripping between my fingers away, I shouldered my bag and stood tall: refusing to be intimidated by the likes of this girl. "Hey, Saphira right?" the dark haired girl sneered, causing the rest of the girls to giggle and whisper amongst themselves obnoxiously. "Depends on who's asking." I said, narrowing my eyes as she smiled sweetly at me, a smile laced with poison. "I had been hoping we could chat for a second, about Stan." she said as the rest of her posse surrounded me, not that I was afraid of them in the least.

"I don't know what sort of conversation we could possibly have about him, or the rest of my friends for that matter." I replied, smirking as her face contorted in rage before she punched the locker right next to my head. "Listen here bitch! Just because you're the New Kid, doesn't give you the right to move in on MY man! Now I'm only going to say this once: stay away from Stan Marsh, and I won't have to post photos of your ugly, slutty self all over the internet. Got it whore?" she demanded, causing my blood to burn in anger as I glared harshly and stood toe to toe with her.

"No I don't 'got it whore' because I can be friends with whoever I want, and it's not up to some prissy, spoiled bitch like you to decide who those people are. And quite frankly, I can see why Stan broke up with you: he's far too sweet to be held down by a controlling deadweight like you and here is YOUR only warning Wendy: fuck with me or any of my friends, and I will personally make your life a living hell, this I can assure you." I growled before turning on my heel and walked to the cafeteria, ignoring the screeching of the pack of bitches behind me.

As soon as I got inside the cafeteria, I pulled a seat up between Kyle and Kenny and took my lunchbox out of my bag. Unfortunately in doing so, I accidentally showed off my torn-up hand, gaining the attention of all the boys at the table. "Holy shit dude, what happened to you?" Kyle asked with a concerned look on his face, much to the amusement of Eric. "Ha-ha, Kahl's got a girlfriend!" he mocked as Kyle's face turned a bright-cherry red as he glared at the fat boy.

"Shut up fatass! She's not my girlfriend!" he snapped at Eric's smug expression. "That's not what your face says Jew-boy." he snickered as he took a large bite of his sandwich. "What happened Saphira?" Kenny asked, ignoring the banter between the two boys. "Wendy and her pack of bitches happened Kenny." I said as Stan gave a low whistle, silencing the two bickering boys. "Shit, I'm sorry Saphira. I didn't know she would attack you like that, do you need one of us to take you to the nurse?" Stan asked, looking bewildered as I shook my head.

"I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore. Thanks for the concern though, I appreciate that." I said with a grin, lying through my teeth about my hand: the skin of my fingers had been ripped off, leaving my left hand a raw, bloody pulp that I had wrapped in paper towels. Regardless of this fact, it still hurt like a bitch on steroids, but I've had to deal with much worse than this. That grin quickly vanished at the sight of Kenny's sad excuse for a lunch, the lunch that only consisted of a slice of bread.

'I guess they weren't kidding when they said Kenny was poor. Well, let's brighten his day shall we?' I thought as I took a little more than half of the contents of my lunchbox: apple, banana, chips, and half my ham and cheese sandwich and gave it to him. "Here Kenny, you need this more than me." I said with a smile as his face split into a look of mixed shock and confusion. "But…aren't you hungry? This is an awful lot of food Saphira." he said as he tried to refuse, only to have me nudge the tray back over to him with a shake of my head.

"My mom always packs me more than I can eat, I guess it was a good thing she did the same thing today." I lied as Stan started a small food-fight with Kyle, laughing as Eric tried to snatch and eat what he could out of the air. Because they were distracted, they didn't see Kenny's eyes well up with tears, nor did they see the grateful squeeze he gave my hand under the table.

After I finished my half of my lunch, I checked to make sure I still had Alex's class schedule in my bag as Kenny ate every last bite of food I had given him. "Hey Saphira." Kyle said, catching my attention from my paper-hunt. "You never answered my question from yesterday. Would you consider joining the elves' side?" he asked, causing Eric to glare sharply at him. "No way Kahl! She was in Kupa Keep first: she doesn't want to be part of your gay Drow Elves." Eric snapped while turning to me with that same glare. "Do you?!" he questioned as everyone at the table went quiet, waiting for my answer.

Before I could answer, the doors to the cafeteria slammed open, revealing panicked and out-of-breath Butters. Spotting us, he sprinted over and started waving his arms like a madman: catching everyone's attention. "Saphira! Saphira come quick! It's Alex! Somebody's beating him up!" he babbled, turning my concerned face into a vicious glare in an instant as I stormed after Butters down the hallways. I didn't care if any of the guys were following me or not, all I cared about was wringing the neck of the son of a bitch that DARED lay a hand on my baby brother.

Storming out onto the playground, I instantly saw a large group of kids standing in a circle as a heavily muscled kid in a black hoodie pinned Alex to the ground and started punching and wailing away on him. Grinding and baring my teeth in rage, it took Eric, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Butters and Clyde to hold me back as I fought to escape their grip and protect my brother. I didn't know and I didn't care WHO this kid thought he was, but he was about to learn: you don't fuck with a MacManus.


	10. Chapter 10

Fighting hard against my friends, I snorted and huffed like an angry bull while I watched helplessly as the brute beat Alex into a pulp in the ankle-deep snow. Only when the assailant pulled a blade out of his hoodie pocket, only then did I see a blend of orange and red as I broke free and pounced on the kid's back with a roar of rage.

Rolling him off Alex, I shoved him a good seven feet away as I glared savagely at him as he chuckled darkly before removing his hoodie, effectively causing every single kid: especially the boys to erupt in a blind panic. As my friends cowered against the fence, I snarled in defiance at my opponent: he was a tall, muscular brute of a kid with blonde hair, mean brown eyes, tattoos along his arms, a red plaid vest and black t-shirt with grey pants as well as a gold chain around his neck.

What made me want to murder him in the most creative ways I could come up with was the smug and prideful sneer spread across his face. "Well well, looks like I have a brand-new bitch to play with. I guess I can fuck around with you before those pansy-ass dykes behind you get what's coming to them." he cackled as he brandished his blade, trying to intimidate me as Alex was hauled to safety by Kyle.

"Calling me a bitch was mistake number one: especially after I was pissed off enough as it was already. Threatening my friends was mistake number two: I don't know who the FUCK you think you are, but if you think I'll let you go after any of them, you are sadly mistaken. And attacking my baby brother well…that's the straw that broke the camel's back!" I snarled as we charged each other, oblivious to the collective gasp and cries of the terrified kids.

Swinging a swift right hook, he tried to take my head off before I snatched his wrist in the same way I had done to Clyde: only this time, I used the momentum of his swing to flip over him and twist his shoulder out of its socket with a dull 'pop'. As he screamed in pain, I kicked him in the back before dashing at him as he stumbled: smashing a right hook of my own into his nose, shattering it on contact.

As blood poured from his face, he slashed wildly at me with the blade in his good hand, snarling in rage as I swooped and ducked around each strike. Seeing my chance, I spun around and rammed my elbow into his jaw, smirking in satisfaction at the loud 'crack' it made before I jumped up and twisted my body in a brutal roundhouse kick, hitting home on his ribs: sending him sprawling back-first into the jungle gym.

Ignoring the kids hunched in a huddle: I stormed over to the barely-conscious bully and grabbed him by the throat. "Now you listen here, if you EVER come near my family or friends again…you bet your ass you will be heading home in a body bag. Do you understand me you slimy piece of shit?!" I growled as he choked and sputtered on his own blood and lack of air as I squeezed. "I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" I yelled: slamming his head into the ground, before letting him go as he rapidly nodded: but not before knocking him unconscious with a curb-stomp for good measure.

Once the trash was taken care of, I turned to the kids as they all stared fearfully at me: considering the whole fight lasted about a minute tops. Not giving a shit about any of them, I walked over to see how badly Alex was beaten: he had a broken nose, bruised face, a sprained wrist and a shiner that had already swollen shut. Taking my beanie off, I stuffed it full of snow before placing it on his face, holding him still as he tried to get away.

"Damnit Alex hold still, I'm not in the mood for your bullshit right now." I said, making him stare at me with his only good but bloodshot eye. "Saphira? What did you do?!" he whimpered as he held the makeshift icepack to his face. "I did my job little brother: I took care of it." I replied as the bell rang, causing all but my friends to dash as fast as their legs could carry them back inside the school. "He-He was gonna kill me Saphy! He j-just came up and started hitting me! I don't even know what I did wrong! What did I do sis?" he sobbed, making me clench my jaw as I fiercely glared over at the unconscious boy who lay in the blood-stained snow.

"You didn't do anything Little Bit: some people are just that way. And it's those kinds of people you always have to stay away from no matter what. Do you understand?" I asked as he nodded, crying and sniffling silent tears as I picked him up and let him ride on my back. "C'mon, I'm signing you out: then I'm taking you home." I said as I glanced at my friends: who all looked scared to death and amazed at what I had just done. Nodding once to them, I quickly carried Alex and our stuff to the principal's office: VERY aware how everyone in the hallways gave me a wide berth and pressed themselves flat against their lockers as I passed by, as well as my red-orange tinted vision.

Entering Principal Victoria's office without even bothering to knock, I quickly caught the blonde lady's attention as she stood from her desk and rushed over to us. "What on earth happened?!" she demanded as she called in the nurse, who started treating my brother immediately. Once she was done tending to him, I told her about what happened outside, watching her face change from angry, to shocked, to angry again.

"I should have known he would come back, I told them he would too. Young lady, do you know who this boy is?" she asked as the nurse wrapped my hand in gauze. "No and I don't care, serves him right for putting his hands on my brother." I said as she sighed before rubbing her temples in frustration. "His name is Trent Boyett: he was one of the meanest children to ever attend this school. Everyone, even adults were afraid of him until he was arrested and thrown in juvenile prison for five years after he caused a fire that permanently damaged a preschool teacher. I don't know how you managed to do what you did to him but you and your little friends can rest easy: after I call your parents, I'll call in the police to return him to prison for a longer sentence. He won't bother you again." she explained as she dialed my mom's number, and explained what happened and what I had done for the sake of Alex.

After about half an hour of waiting, mom showed up and took both of us home after fussing over what happened to Alex. As I sat on the couch and mom put Alex to bed with a couple Advil, I couldn't help the internal panic as it dawned on me that everyone had seen what happened to me and as I suspected: they are now all afraid of me. And now we will have to leave South Park because I couldn't keep my god-forsaken anger in check! My father was gonna kill me, not that it would be a bad thing to do at this point.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by my mom as she walked down the stairs and came to a stop in front of me. "I should thank you for what you did for Alex Saphira, by the sounds of this boy and what he did: Alex would be dead now if it weren't for you. But unfortunately I need to tell your father about this and he won't be happy to hear you got into a fight, so until this blows over with him…" she started with a shameful look on her face and I knew what she wanted me to do.

"Basement?" I asked, sighing heavily as she nodded before giving me a tight hug, letting go of me as I once again found myself walking down the creaky wooden steps of the basement, pausing as I heard the lock on the door click: trapping me down here once again. 'Maybe it's better for everyone if I just laid down and died, I'm clearing good for nothing but scaring people and a burden after all. Like dad said, those kids will probably never speak to me again after today, I mean: WHO would be crazy enough to be friends with a monster like me?' I thought bitterly as I sat on the cold, damp floor again as I waited for my dad to get home from work, and the inevitable job of packing up my things again, and never to see any of my friends ever again: that was the part that totally destroyed my already-damaged soul.


	11. Chapter 11

Sitting in the dank basement, I could clearly hear the tense argument going on upstairs, signaling the arrival of my father. As my mom explained to him that I had done what I did in order to save my brother, my dad retaliated by shouting that none of it would have happened if I had told a teacher like a 'normal' kid. I didn't know which hurt more: the fact that I'm forced to stay down here instead of with the rest of my family, or the fact that my own father wants nothing to do with me and treats me like a burden he didn't want.

Sighing, I picked up a small grey mouse that had been sniffing my shoe and pet it as I stared at a stain on the floor in a daze. 'I wonder if any of the guys will miss me when we leave.' I thought as I laughed bitterly at the thought: of course they won't, they're too shit-scared to even come over and check on Alex, let alone me. At least I have SOME company that isn't afraid, even if it is a mouse that doesn't understand a thing I'd say to it…but company was company and I won't take it for granted.

"You're not scared of me are you little mouse? You don't understand me but that's okay, I can talk for the both of us." I said to it as it stood on its hind legs and sniffed my nose with a tiny squeak, as if telling me to continue. "I never wanted any of this to happen, all I wanted was to live a happy life filled with friends, family, and the ability to be a kid for once in my life. I want to play, laugh, hangout and just BE normal: if only for a day. But no, that can't happen because I'm not normal and I never will be…not after what they did to me. This might've been stupid and childish but I made a wish on a star yesterday: I asked it to send me a friend who understood how it feels to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. That's what I wished for and that's all I want, instead I fucked that chance up by nearly killing someone. I don't want people to be afraid of me: but to understand that I did what I did to make sure my brother was safe. But of course nobody else sees it that way: all they see is a monster." I whimpered as tears trailed down my face like a raging river as I poured my heart out to the little rodent sitting in my palm.

It was around this time that the argument upstairs dimmed down to a heated conversation as Alex put in his two cents, bless his heart. Wiping my tears away so I could see clearly, I saw that the little mouse leaned forward and placed its paw on my nose before jumping from my hand and disappeared under the stairs. For several minutes I sat in silence, watching the setting sun turn the white snow a blend of pink, yellow, and blue before I turned my gaze to the door as my parents both came down and stood in front of me.

"Your mother told me what happened today with that boy and your brother. I am absolutely livid with you for breaking the set rules of not revealing yourself, but if you hadn't: Alex would be dead. Therefore, we came to a decision about what to do with you, Saphira." dad said as he stood rigid with his arms crossed, making me look down at my feet in deep personal shame. "We have decided to allow you to use your 'abilities' only in emergencies." he said, making my head snap up so quickly I was sure I had given myself whiplash.

"But you said if anyone saw me that they will-" I started, only to have him silence me with a wave of his hand. "Yes that's what I said and I meant it: however, I highly doubt they will care if their lives are at stake. You can also wear that…'outfit' of yours instead of hiding it, since there's no point in doing so now." he said, not giving me a chance to reply as he and mom retreated back upstairs and to bed, leaving the door unlocked this time: making me grateful for not having to pick the lock again.

As I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that I wasn't going to be punished for breaking the rules, I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden but persistent 'tapping' on the basement window. Looking up, fearful that I had finally been discovered, only to relax at the familiar sight of Mysterion staring intently at me from the window. 'He's probably here to interrogate me about what happened today.' I thought as I nodded at him before opening the window and climbing out into the cold evening air.

Standing up straight, I saw the vigilante keeping a very close watch on me as I brushed the snow off my knees. Looking back at him, I saw his scowl was deeper than the last time I had seen him and his eyes were cold and calculating. "I suppose you'd like an explanation." I stated as he narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"Fine, I will tell you all I'm allowed, but not here where others might be listening. Do you know a place that's out of earshot of eavesdroppers?" I asked, widening my eyes as he became more guarded and slipped into a defensive stance. "No! That's not what I'm trying to do, it's very important that nobody knows what I'm about to tell you." I said as he searched my expression, poking and prodding for any lies or schemes before nodding and gesturing for me to follow him.

As we tromped through the snow and up and down various alleyways, I noticed he wasn't letting his guard down in the least bit and kept glancing at me like he expected me to attack him. After about an hour of this awkward journey, I found myself standing with him on the roof of Walgreens. Looking around for Mysterion, I found him perched on top of an AC unit: in a typical Batman pose that oddly suited him.

With a heavy sigh, I made myself comfortable on the edge of the building and tried to decide where to begin with this long and complicated story of mine. "Where should I start?" I asked him as he cocked his head slightly, making the question mark on his hood wiggle a bit. "How about you start with the beginning, like all stories." he replied as he shifted his weight, ready to fight or flee in case I turned on him. "Wait, you're not afraid of me?" I questioned, shocked that he didn't have the fearful look in his eyes as the rest of the kids that saw me fight today, meaning he probably wasn't there.

"That remains to be seen." he said, deepening his scowl at my stalling before I began. "Remember when I told you that you weren't the only one with a burden?" I asked him as he blinked and nodded cautiously. "I was talking about me when I said that as you can probably guess. When I was five years old, my parents signed me up for a genetic mutation experiment: an experiment that involved the testing of a weaponized virus that mutated animals and people into creatures and monsters not even your worst nightmares can conjure up. I had begged and pleaded for them to leave me alone, but they said that I had 'promising reactions' to the torture they had me endure. Instead of it killing me or turning me into a creature from hell: the virus bonded to me, earning me the codename ZEUS amongst the scientists and military faction known as Blackwatch. When that happened, they wouldn't let me leave: instead they pushed me past my limits by forcing me to fight the 'failed' test subjects in an arena like some kind of gladiator. I had learned to control my…abilities in doing so, even though it came with a price. I can shapeshift into anything or anyone by consuming or absorbing them: but in doing so I end up killing them, letting me gain their form, memories, and status as an individual. In addition to that, I can rapidly heal myself as well as adapt to many forms of combat and situations." I explained with a shuddering breath as Mysterion tensed as he glared at me, silently urging me to continue.

"I can take hits that would kill a normal human, I can run up walls, I can rip a helicopter in half and throw the pieces a ridiculous distance away. I can also turn my arms into an arsenal of weapons and fall from very great heights and land on my feet without taking damage. I could even glide like a wing-suitor if I felt like it from one building to another. My life isn't my own and I hate it almost as much as what those bastards turned me into, because of them: I am a monster that deserves to die just as much as the rest of the scum of the earth. I'm a super soldier with no other purpose but to destroy, it's all I know how to do. When my parents finally realized their mistake, they smuggled me from the Gentek facility I was caged in and moved us here. My brother refuses to speak of it, my parents forbade me from showing any of my skills or risk severe punishment: which is part of the reason why I had been locked in the basement earlier. I don't want to be a monster Mysterion, I want to live a normal life like everyone else and just be free. But now that Gentek knows that I'm gone, Blackwatch will surely be hunting me down: and they won't hesitate to nuke every city and town if it means finding me, and when they do: they will 'take out the trash' and start over with some other poor kid to mold into the perfect weapon." I said as I wiped my tears away, not daring to look at Mysterion's reaction to my tale as the snow fell gently from the night sky, and something told me I didn't want to.


	12. Chapter 12

For several minutes the only sound that could be heard was the howling wind as my words sunk in. I couldn't bear to look at Mysterion, for fear he would be looking at me the same way everyone else was, and for some reason that really bothered me. As I stared at the multicolored buildings of downtown, I flinched out of reflex as Mysterion's boots made contact with the roof after jumping from his perch.

"For a long time, I felt the same as you do." he muttered, almost making me jump out of my skin as he placed a gloved hand on my shoulder. Sensing that what he was trying to tell me was extremely important, I turned to look at him as he stared me in the eye. "Not long ago, I teamed up with a group of superheroes from my neighborhood in order to save The Gulf from a reign of demons and the dark god Cthulhu that had been released from their dimension. The other heroes were friends of mine with pretend powers unlike me: I had been hoping they would begin to grasp that fact that I had been different from them." he said with more emotion than usual as he stared at me.

"What is your power Mysterion?" I asked quietly, afraid that if I had spoken louder it would make him dart back into his shell. "I. Can't. Die." he said as his scowl turned into a snarl of anger. 'As cool as that sounds, it must really bother him to have to know that he will out-live everyone he loves, but then again he could just be lying.' I thought sadly as I stared at him as he looked out at the snow falling from the dark-grey sky.

"That's actually pretty cool." I said, humoring him as his hard blue eyes flicked over to me before literally freezing over in rage. "Pretty cool?! Do you have any idea what it feels like to be stabbed?! To be shot?! Decapitated?! Run over?! Burned?! Torn apart?! It's NOT 'Pretty Cool' girl: It. Fucking. Hurts. And it won't go away, and nobody will believe me!" he snarled as he stood rigid directly in my face as if he were about to hit me.

"Yes Mysterion: I do know what it feels like." I mumbled as I broke eye-contact with him and looked away, causing him to halt in his rage and stare at me in suspicion. "I very highly doubt that, regardless of what you endure: I ALWAYS come back to relive it again the next day." he spat, making me pull my lips back in a grimace as I glared at him. "That may be true, but I heal so fast that I don't have a chance to think about what death would feel like. The difference between you and me: I would gladly welcome death with open arms, if only to escape the pain and torture I'm forced to live through every single day. Don't take your power for granted, for there are some burdens that make even yours look like nothing." I stated seriously as his anger evaporated as he took in my expression and words with somber understanding before he backed off and stared out at the town again.

"The worst part? None of my friends ever remember when I die, when in fact I die all the time and wake up in my bed like nothing happened. I don't even know why I'm burdened with this curse, but I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy." he said as he clenched his fists, as if he were trying not to cry or scream in rage. "I already know that it's too late for me, but maybe there is a way to remove the curse from you." I said as his head whipped over to me in surprise.

"What?" he asked, as if he had imagined what I had said as I looked over at him with a smile. "I decided I will use this power for the good of others, so I'll try my hardest to find a way to remove that curse from you, Mysterion." I said as his eyes lit up for the first time before his scowl changed into a small grin of his own before becoming cautious again. "Why would you help me? What's in it for you?" he questioned as I shook my head at him.

"You remind me of my brother Alex, you two would be great friends, I can tell." I said as I turned from him and stood on the edge of Walgreens. "That kid you protected from Trent Boyett was your brother? It makes sense now: I had originally come to arrest you for assault and battery until I saw that look in your eyes. That look: it's the look of a burden, a burden that is greater than mine." he said as I nodded and looked him in the eye.

"Figured as much: none of the other kids would even come near me after that, especially the kids I could've called friends now that they saw me lose my control today. I guess wishing for a friend on that star WAS a stupid idea after all, but before you turn me in, let me ask you this Mysterion: how far are you willing to go, to protect those you love?" I questioned as his eyes widened the slightest bit as I backed away from him and straightened my spine, using my power to shift and morph my beanie, hoodie and pants into the black, red and grey leather body suit I wore underneath.

Flicking my burgundy hair out of my face, I glanced at Mysterion: whose face had turned a dark-cherry red from what I could see of his face and his wide blue eyes stayed frozen on my slightly-glowing gothic form as he took in my appearance. 'Probably shouldn't have made this suit skin-tight, especially when I'm nothing but streamlined muscle thanks to the virus. Poor kid looks like he's about to die of shock.' I thought with a giggle, bringing Mysterion out of his daze with a choking cough.

"Well its past my bedtime, pity I don't know who you are and I won't pressure you into telling me. Goodnight Mysterion, and…do be sure to treat that nosebleed of yours when you get home." I smirked as he lifted a glove to his nose to find it was indeed bleeding. Straightening my back, I winked at the vigilante before drawing my hood up to the point where only my mouth was visible in the deep shadows before jumping from the roof and used the virus's biomass to glide to the roof of Tom's Rhinoplasty across the street.

Turning around, I could just make out Mysterion's shocked expression as I sent him a wave goodbye before I took off in a silent ninja-like sprint across the rooftops towards home, hoping that things would be better tomorrow at school where hopefully, my friends will still be waiting. I had forgotten what being free felt like as I ran across roofs, ran vertically up walls, bounced off telephone poles and just enjoyed myself.

Pulling my arms behind me, I jumped from a streetlight and flew downward and around the corner of Butters' house, where a single light stayed lit in an upstairs bedroom. 'Maybe I should pay him a visit, he doesn't seem to have many friends and I really freaked him out today.' I thought, changing my appearance back to my trademark hoodie as I picked up a tiny pebble and carefully tossed it up at his window.

"Psst! Butters! You up there?" I called quietly, smiling as the timid boy appeared at the window a moment later. Sending him a wave as he spotted me, he fearfully looked around before opening his window. "Oh h-hey Saphira, w-what are you doing here?" he asked as he stared down at me. "Just checking to make sure you guys are all okay and to apologize. Can I come up?" I asked as Butters looked behind him with a nervous look before looking back down at me.

"W-Well my p-parents are asleep-" he started, making me smirk a bit at him. "That's okay, I can just do this." I said as I jumped and grabbed a branch of the tree that was growing next to his window. Once I had my grip, I swung and flipped through the branches until I was level with him. "Oh h-hamburgers!" he squeaked and tried to hide in the shirt of his PJs. "You don't have to be afraid of me Butters, I'm not going to hurt you: I just came to apologize for scaring all of you today: I didn't mean for you to see that." I said as he peeked out of his shirt and gave me a small grin at my sad expression.

"Aw that's alright Saphira, i-it was actually pretty cool to see your eyes glow orange like that." he said, making my eyes widen considerably when he said my eyes glowed. 'Shit.' I thought as I smiled at him before glancing over at my house. "Well, it's past my bedtime: see you tomorrow, Butters the Merciful." I said, teasing his 'title' as he blushed and played with his shirt before I jumped from the tree and landed in the slushy snow. "Bye Saphira, don't worry: n-none of the guys are afraid of ya." he called quietly as I waved at him before jumping through my window, beyond happy that I had finally made the friends I had always wanted.


	13. Chapter 13

When the bus had dropped the guys and I off at school the next day, I had expected everything to be okay again. But what I had expected and what was: were as different as a smile was from a punch to the gut. My mom had decided to keep Alex home for a few days so his injuries could heal, and the guys had branched off somewhere.

As I walked down the hallway, the other kids would either flatten themselves against their lockers, or whisper harsh comments behind my back as I passed by. 'Just brush it off Saphira. It will pass soon.' I told myself as I took my seat in Mr. Garrison's class before anyone else had even shown up. Once the bell had finally rung, I couldn't bear to look up from my homework as the guys walked through the door, chatting loudly about something I couldn't catch.

As soon as they spotted me, the entire class went silent: even going so far as to move their desks as far away from mine as possible. Oddly enough, the only one that hadn't done this was Kenny, who instead moved his desk closer to mine so that they connected. Smiling at him, I continued to finish up my homework before another desk slammed into mine from the other side. Looking to my right in confusion, I was greeted by the sight of Kyle as he patted my back in reassurance with a smile.

Before I could even register what was going on, Stan and reluctantly Eric had also pushed their desks over to mine until it created one large desk. "T-Thanks guys." I barely managed to say as I dried my watering eyes off with my beanie. Before any of them could reply, the bitch in purple decided this was the perfect moment to destroy what was left of my self-esteem. "Oh Stan, I was just chatting with Bebe and couldn't help but notice that you had accidentally decided to sit with the Freak, let's fix that shall we?" she said sweetly as she cuddled up next to the boy in question.

"Yeah! Get away from that monster before you end up like Trent." a blonde girl known as Bebe sneered as the rest of Wendy's posse joined in with similar insults of various degree. As Kyle and Kenny angrily defended me, I felt my stomach tighten and my ears redden: a clear sign that I was going to cry, something I REALLY didn't want to do, especially in front of the boys. Blinking rapidly, I raised my hand to answer an easy math question that Mr. Garrison asked when the unthinkable happened.

At Wendy's wink, her and all of her followers emitted screams and shrieks of 'agony' as they threw themselves from their desks and into walls, writhing on the floor while clutching their necks, scratching at their eyes, etc. No sooner that I had put my hand down, did they stop their act: not that it mattered because everyone was staring at me and trembling in fear. "W-What the fuck are you playing at you fucking monster?!" Wendy screeched as Mr. Garrison hurried from the chalkboard over to the 'fallen' students.

"Look everyone! Look at what this…this FREAK did to me!" Bebe wailed, keeping up the act as she showed the class a pair of clearly self-inflicted handprints on her neck. Clenching my jaw to the point where it hurt, I glared venomously at a very smug Wendy as I stood from my seat and bolted out of the classroom, completely ignoring the pleas of Kenny and Kyle to 'wait for them' or 'come back.' I didn't know how long I was running or where I was going but I had somehow found myself wedged in a secluded corner of the cafeteria.

Ripping the burnt-orange beanie from my head, I jammed it in my eyes as the tears started rolling, completely soaking my hat in less than a few minutes. 'How can I EVER show my face after what that skank has done?!' that was the question that plagued my mind ever since I left the classroom. Sure it was sweet of the boys to stick up for me, but there was only so much that they could do: and THIS wasn't part of that category, not by a long shot. As I sat curled up on the floor, I continued to cry silent tears and wish for nothing more than the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

If it were possible, I curled into a tighter ball at the sound of the cafeteria doors slamming shut and the pitter-patter of small feet walking towards my hiding spot. "W-What the? Saphira? What are ya doing on the floor?" the unmistakable stutter of Butters sounded, identifying the student that had been approaching me. Even though I was glad that someone decent had found me, I couldn't bring myself to reply: just hid my face in my arms and sniffed.

"H-Hey now don't cry, what happened?" he asked, concerned as he put something made out of wood: judging by the sound, on the floor and crouched next to me. Smiling through my tears, I glanced up at him for a second before unceremoniously dropping my head back on my arms. "You weren't there?" I mumbled through the fabric of my hoodie. "N-No, I was in the bathroom before c-class started." he replied as he sat next to me on the floor, as I fought to stop crying.

"Wendy and her posse of whores decided to frame me for 'beating them up' during class. It's like nothing I do can prove to anyone that I'm not a bad person, but I really shouldn't even BE surprised: I've been an outcast to society ever since I was five." I said as Butters suddenly stood up and held his hand out to me. "W-Well it looks l-like this is a job for Professor Chaos." he said as he helped me up and started walking over to the exit of the cafeteria. "Who?" I asked as I jogged to catch up with him as he began leading me off somewhere. "U-Um Professor Chaos i-is the most evil m-mastermind in South Park and is always trying to come up with evil plots to bring Chaos upon the world that shunned him. If there is anyone that could help you get back at them for d-doing that to you: it's him." he said as he led me towards the bathrooms, neither of us really caring that we were skipping class because this was more important apparently.

Stopping in front of the boy's bathroom, Butters looked down the hallways to make sure we weren't being followed before turning to me. "This is where Chaos hides, I'm-I'm gonna go tell him you're here, wait right there." he said as he slipped inside the bathroom before I could say anything. After the door shut I was beginning to get a bit worried for Butters, especially if he was confronting someone as dangerous sounding as this 'Professor Chaos'. Before I could break any more rules by storming in after him, the door creaked open: revealing something I did NOT expect at all.

Standing in the doorway…was none other than Butters dressed in a strange-looking costume. His helmet, gloves and shoulder plates were made from aluminum foil with a small red spot in the middle of his forehead. Across his chest was a pair of metal disks connected by a chain that held a dark-green cape across his back. As he stepped out of the bathroom, I saw that his boots were also made from aluminum foil, making him look a strange combination of Dr. Doom and Magneto.

'This is an all well and good costume, but how is this supposed to help me?' I wondered as Butters stared intently at me with his arms crossed over his chest. "So, this is the one in need of a little Chaos? Well, I hope I'm not wasting my time with some petty argument." he said in an evil-sounding voice without stuttering. "Uh Butters, what're you doing?" I asked confused as he narrowed his eyes at me. "No! Not Butters you incompetent fool! I am the mighty Professor Chaos: Master of all things Evil, King of Vengeance, and Lord of Chaos!" he suddenly shouted, slamming his fist angrily into the set of lockers next to him, and that's when it hit me: Butters had multiple personalities! And apparently I was speaking to the side of Butters that was born when the world shunned him: how ironic.

Deciding to humor him, I nodded before following him to a nearby empty classroom to discuss 'business'. As he jumped up on the teacher's desk, he stood firm: as if he expected me to bow before him or something of the like. "I have been framed for attacking Wendy and her pack of bitches during class." I said simply as Chao's face split into an evil sneer. "And so you sought out Chaos…how utterly delightful, but I am curious Saphira MacManus: why frame you?" he questioned as he glared down at me. "Let me make one thing clear: I don't trust you Chaos, but I DO trust Butters. Therefore I'm inclined to share this information with you, but only if you play by MY rules." I said with a glare of my own, causing him to let out a bark of laughter that I knew Butters wouldn't make, confirming the multiple-personality theory.

"Who are YOU to give demands of ME?! I should make you suffer for your foolishness, however, Butters seems quite fond of you: it's most irritating that he holds back the chaos I wish to reign on the world." he said with an annoyed scowl that instantly made me think of Mysterion. "You might think the world has shunned you, when in truth: you don't know the meaning of the word." I said as his eyes flashed in rage before he stomped down on the desk, not only making a loud noise, but also sending everything on it to the floor.

"How DARE you! You think I don't know what it feels like to be pushed around, to be bullied by everyone around without the smallest bit of sympathy, to be used in schemes that either gets me grounded, or sent to the hospital?! So don't you dare think you're so high and mighty just because of something as petty as this!" he snarled as I stared back at him fearlessly. "At least YOU aren't the result of scientists playing with something they couldn't control, at least YOU weren't locked up in a cage like some animal for four years of your life: forced to fight, and cursed with a power you never wanted." I snapped, causing Chaos to cease his rage and narrow his beady eyes at me.

"Oh?" he questioned from his perch, taking in the meaning of my stance before nodding once. "Why don't you…PROVE it? Prove to me that you deserve my help, then I'll decide whether or not to help you." he smirked, laughing harshly at the horrified look on my face. 'Is he INSANE?! There is no way in hell I'm proving my abilities to him: what if he betrays me, what if someone else sees?!' I panicked, amusing Chaos all the more. "Show my power?! Are you out of your mind?!" I hissed, causing him to shrug his shoulders before hopping down from the desk.

"Fine, then I guess you could help yourself: because I have bigger plans then to help some loser of a girl win a spat amongst her classmates." he stated as he grabbed hold of the doorknob, preparing himself to leave. "Fine!" I growled, making Chaos pause at the door before glance back at me with a victorious glint in his eye, making me question why the FUCK I decided to agree to this.


	14. Chapter 14

'Why the hell am I doing this? Why me?!' I groaned internally as Chaos laughed maniacally before walking over to me, stopping a few feet away. "See? That wasn't so difficult now was it? Well, go on then: show me what you can do." he said, the smug look never leaving his face as I gulped nervously and checked to see if the door was shut good and tight.

"I'm warning you Chaos, you speak ONE word of this to anyone…and I will hunt you down and rip you apart in the most creative way possible: I don't care if you ARE Butters!" I snarled before raising my right elbow, so that my hand and forearm were level with my head. Even though I was killing myself inside, I couldn't help the slight smirk at Chaos' confused look as he stared at me. Giving my arm the slightest twitch, it suddenly became nothing but writhing, black-cherry and glowing red biomass: shifting and changing until my entire arm became nothing but a deep-red, glowing limb with twelve-inch long, razor-sharp curved blades for claws.

Up the length of my arm was hardened biomass that twitched and moved like muscle and was more than capable of just about anything: from ripping and tearing, to climbing and hanging. Up the rest of my arm was the same biomass, only blade-like spines and raised ridges grew from the already frightening image. As I stared Chaos in the eye, I saw raw fear and terror make itself known in every fiber of his being, causing me to twitch my arm again: rendering it back to normal, like it was never there.

"Are you satisfied?" I spat, bringing him out of his daze and caused him to stumble back away from me before regaining control of himself. "What power…!" he cried joyfully before instantly agreeing to help me in getting back at Wendy, to my cautious relief. "So you can change your form into anything?" he interrogated as we made our way back to the bathrooms, making me gulp before nodding. "If you were to change into someone, would they have a clone?" he asked as he suddenly started rubbing his hands together with an evil smile on his face, making me automatically shake my head.

"No, the only way I can change into someone is for me to consume them. If I were to consume you, you will die." I said, making him stare at me in shock for a second. "Very well, I shall begin planning for vengeance against Wendy and her little group. When it is complete, I will seek you out: pleasure doing business with you, Saphira MacManus." he said as he disappeared inside the bathroom, only to reemerge as Butters a few minutes later. Judging by the look on his face, he hadn't a clue as to what happened after he first entered the bathroom.

'Thank god, I don't know what I would've done if poor Butters had remembered seeing my power.' I thought as he nervously tapped his fingers together. "W-Well? What did he say Saphira?" he asked as we began walking down the hallway with no real destination in mind. "He said he would help me, and you were right Butters." I said, causing the poor kid to stumble in his step: as if he wasn't expecting me to agree with him on anything. "A-About what?" he asked nervously as we walked around the corner and past Mr. Garrison's classroom.

"That Professor Chaos is an evil mastermind, took me a while to get him to agree to help me. And just between you and me: he had a pretty badass costume, don't tell him I said that though." I said, watching as his face lit up like a Christmas tree at my compliments on his alter-ego and costume. I said that for two reasons: one, it was true: that costume was pretty cool and creative and two: I said it to help boost his self-esteem. Being used to abuse and mistreatment myself, I could easily read the same signs in others: and poor Butters just screamed 'save me' in everything he did and it made me sad and angry that I was the only one that could see it, especially when I had only known him for a few days.

"You-You really think so?" Butters said, snapping me out of my daze as I turned and smiled at him. "Hell yeah I do!" I replied as his face split into an ear-to-ear grin, making me happy that I had made his day. As I looked at the happy look on his face, I suddenly had an idea that would make both of our days better: I just hoped we wouldn't get in trouble for it. "Hey Butters." I said, catching the timid boy's attention. "Y-Yeah?" he asked as I checked for any eavesdroppers before continuing. "Do you just want to skip and go home? I really don't feel like going back in that classroom after what happened this morning." I said as Butters' eyes widened in fear before playing nervously with his shirt.

"Aw gee whiz Saphira: I don't wanna get grounded for leaving school. I-I mean, what if we get caught and my parents find out?" he stuttered, making me grin at him in reassurance. "Don't worry about that, nobodies gonna find out and we won't get in trouble." I said as I walked towards the side exit of the school, smirking to myself as I heard Butters run to catch up with me as we quietly slipped out of the building and jumped the fence. About halfway home I pulled out my phone and started texting my mom and asked her if she could have both Butters and I signed out of school, that way his parents wouldn't ground him.

"Eh th-that's okay, usually when people hang out with me for a while, they turn their attention to their phones instead." Butters said with his head down as he kicked a pebble down the snow-covered sidewalk. 'Oh Butters.' I thought sadly as I put my phone back in the pocket of my hoodie. "Don't worry Butters, I was just texting my mom and telling her I wasn't feeling well so I was going home." I said, leaving out the little white lie as we turned the corner of our street. "O-Oh alright then." he replied, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that his parents weren't home, making me think that there was more to Butters' family than what would be expected.

Walking up the ice-covered driveway of my house, I smiled at Butters before unlocking the door and leading him inside and out of the cold. "You-you have a n-nice house Saphira." he complimented, placing his backpack next to the door as we removed our soaking wet boots and placed them next to the fireplace for them to dry. "Thank you Butters, you would have liked our other house too: it was right on the beach with islands that you could swim to. Alex and I had turned this one island into our own special place: we built a whole bunch of treehouses and turned them into a place similar to Kupa Keep. All of you guys would've loved it." I said, feeling a bit nostalgic as I told him about our island, but that went away as soon as I saw the look of awe on his face.

"That must have been real neat-o to live in a place like that, wish we could see what it looked like." Butters said as he rubbed his hands together as I lit the fireplace. "I can show you what it looked like through a video we made just before we moved. I don't know where it is though, but that's okay: there are plenty of other things we could do until Eric and the guys get out of school so feel free to stay until then Butters." I said with a grin, which turned into a smile as he looked at me in shock. "You- You really mean it?" he asked as his eyes filled with tears.

'Poor thing, so used to being rejected that he expects it now, it's like he doesn't have a single friend in the world.' I thought as I nodded, struggling to breathe and keep my power in check as Butters tackled me in a suffocating bear-hug while thanking me repeatedly. "N-Not to burst your b-bubble…but I kinda n-need air Butters!" I wheezed as he let go instantly. "Aw gee whiz, I'm sorry Saphira." he apologized while looking down at his socks. "That's alright, now enough of this cheesy-emotions crap: let's kick some people's asses on Xbox." I smirked as we basically raced each other up the steps and into Alex's and my room, more than ready to enjoy each other's company: as outcasts of society.


	15. Chapter 15

I was astounded to say the least: not only had Butters taken an instant liking to Jake and Hershey, but he was actually kicking my ass in Halo 4. He even asked if he could play with Jake wrapped around his neck, and after showing him how to position the eight month old python, he quickly started laughing as Jake kept bumping Butters in the ear with his nose. Once everything was set up, I started a custom Halo game so Butters could learn the controls and how to use the weapons.

After about five minutes or so, I found that Butters was a natural sniper: even going so far as to get headshots on me from across the map and was able to ricochet the bullets so that they bounced off the walls and nailed me in the face from behind cover. At first I was going easy on him, but after the twelfth time well…let's just say that I showed him why I was called 'The Huntress' by my Xbox friends. Smirking evilly, I glanced at Butters as he scratched Jake under the chin before turning my attention back to the game as my character stalked his own from the platform above him.

I moved slowly enough so that I wouldn't show up on the radar, while Butters crept along the walkway, ready to snipe anything that moved. "Hey Butters, guess what?" I said, keeping my voice as ominous as possible so I could not only freak him out, but to get a better reaction out of him. "Wh-What?" he asked nervously as he saw my face split into a sinister smile. "Surprise!" I shouted as I made my Spartan jump from her hiding place and quickly held down B: causing the animation of my Spartan to tackle Butters' character to the ground and run him through with the Energy Sword she carried.

"AW WHAT!" he yelled in denial, making me laugh my ass off as I tried to run around a corner: only to run into one of Butters' Plasma Grenades, earning him the final kill of the game with a score of 50 to 45. "Good game Butters, I didn't expect you to kick my ass like that. You are terrifying with that damn Sniper, maybe we could have the guys join in: you'd get their respect for sure." I said, making him turn a brilliant shade of red as he held Jake, laughing at the image of Snoopy I had pointed out to him. Our fun was interrupted by a large snowball crashing into my window, causing both of us to nearly jump out of our skin.

Turning off the Xbox and the TV, I was finally able to hear the shouting outside clearly. "EY MacManus! Get your pansy-ass out here and get back to the god-damned game!" an all-to-familiar voice yelled from downstairs. "Well, looks like the boys are home, let's get back into costume and back to playing, Butters." I said with a sigh as I placed Jake back into his cage and locked the hatch so he couldn't escape. Nodding at my request, Butters ran down the stairs, gathered his things, and dashed next door so he could change into his costume. 'I guess I'm on my own since Alex is out with mom.' I thought as I put on my Fighters garb and sword, before heading out the door and over to Eric's house, where the rest of the residents of Kupa Keep were already waiting.

Bidding Mrs. Cartman a quick 'hello', I headed out to the backyard, where I was immediately greeted with nervous looks from Scott, a rather touchy-feely hug from Kenny, and a glare from Eric. "About damn time! Where the fuck were you?!" he snapped as he slammed his stick on the snowy ground, sending the slushy substance across the grass. "I was playing Halo with Butters while we waited for you guys if you must know." I replied with a glare as he stomped right up to me and stared me in the eye.

"Watch your tone bitch, or I will banish you from space and time: just like Clyde. I don't even know why you're still fucking playing with us when you can't even handle being called out by Testaburger." he growled, smirking as he hit the sensitive subject that was still raw in my mind. "Cartman!" Kenny exclaimed as I involuntarily flinched before fiercely glaring at him, reveling in his sudden nervousness as my vision turned orange: signaling my inner rage at the fat kid in front of me.

"If you were smart, you'd keep your comments to yourself: especially about matters you couldn't even BEGIN to understand. Now, let's continue this game shall we?" I questioned as my vision returned to normal and Eric regained control of himself. "Holy fuck dude!" Kenny whispered to Butters as I stepped back from Eric and waited for him to give me my objective. "As I was saying: the elves have stolen The Stick of Truth, and we must assemble our ENTIRE army in order to get it back." Eric said as he got back into character.

"But our three best warriors haven't reported for duty yet my King!" Butters protested, drawing our attention to him while Eric rubbed his double-chin in thought. "One of our newest members can take care of that! MacManus, I want you to venture out into the neighborhood and retrieve my three best warriors: Token, Tweek and Craig. I'm texting their profiles to your Facebook page now." he said as he sent the pictures over to my phone: which buzzed with each notification.

"But beware: the lands beyond are full of marauding Drow Elves, monsters and sixth graders. I have a feeling you will be well-equipped, but I will send Princess Kenny to accompany you so you could discuss girly shit, or whatever it is you do. Now go! And send my warriors here, while I send my carrier raven to deliver a pissed off message to your bailing brother!" he said as Kenny approached me while carrying a pink and white bow and arrows. "Alex is out with my mom, and you FORGOT to mention the 'Savior' part of the game you asshole!" I shouted to the Grand Wizard over my shoulder as Kenny and I reentered the house and exited out the front door.

Once we were out of sight of the others, Kenny suddenly pulled me aside with a concerned look on what part of his face I could see. "Are you alright Saphira? You worried us when you didn't come back to class." he said as he searched my gaze for any sign that I was still hooked on Wendy's plot. "To be honest: I'm getting REAL sick of people judging me for being different than them. I just want people to accept me for WHO I am, not what people make me out to be." I said as I looked down at my boots, hoping to get him to understand without having to give it away.

"You have friends with us, maybe not Cartman because he's always been a dick. But me, Kyle and Butters: we're your friends." he replied as he tilted my chin up so I could make eye contact with him, to show how serious he was. "You forgot someone Kenny." I said with a small smile as I thought about the vigilante that knew me better than anyone else ever could. "I did?" he asked, confusion in his ocean-blue eyes.

"The first night I moved here, I got punished and locked in the basement by my dad. After they went to bed without giving me any dinner, I snuck up on the roof to look at the sky and just for once feel like I was normal. That was when I met someone who knows me on a deeper level than anyone probably ever will: I met Mysterion." I said as Kenny's eyes widened before he gripped my arms in a firm grip. "You met Mysterion?! Wow Saphira, you must be a very special lady to get the attention of South Park's superhero! Not that I can blame him when there's a looker like you hangin' around." he flirted with a wink, causing my face to match the color of my hoodie: much to Kenny's amusement.

'God damnit WHY! Why must God torture me with someone who thinks he likes me: only to run and hide once my 'true self' comes clean?!' I thought as I angrily shook the blush from my face. "More like he met me, he scared the shit out of me to the point where I almost fell off the roof. I'm grateful he saved me when he didn't have to, and it turns out we are very similar in certain cases and I wish I could tell him that he's the main reason why I'm trying to make an effort to change my image." I said as his eyes crinkled in a smile. "I'm sure he would be very happy to hear that, especially from you, now c'mon: we've got a game to play." Kenny said as he let go of my arms and led me in the direction of our current destination, and towards what I hoped would be new friends as accepting and amazing as Kenny.


	16. Chapter 16

Walking past my house, we came across a barricade that said 'no humans' on a cardboard sign sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. 'Seriously? They honestly think that THAT is going to stop me from getting to where I need to be?' I thought as I rolled my eyes before giving the barricade a good punch, leaving it in pieces on the ground. Even though that puny punch wasn't even scratching the surface of what my real power could do, I still couldn't help but smirk at Kenny's impressed whistle. Continuing on our way, we were suddenly ambushed by a group of four elves that were hiding inside a snowman.

"Halt! This is Drow Elf territory, get out of here!" one of them yelled as they brandished their weapons of choice. "How dare you?! You elves are speaking to the Savior of Zaron! You WILL let us pass, or else I know a group of elves that will be feeling the wrath of King Kyle." I shouted in defiance, making all four elves suddenly drop into the snow and apologize repeatedly. "Holy shit! Forgive us Savior: we didn't know it was you! Please…go right ahead." an elf dressed in red armor cried as they backed away, letting Kenny and I pass without a fuss.

"What was that about?" Kenny asked in confusion as we rounded a corner and continued down the block, passing the wooden welcome sign for the town as we did. "Apparently Eric forgot to mention that I was some kind of 'Savior' that will bring peace to both races while protecting the land from an Army of Darkness, or some shit like that. When the elves took The Stick, they also kidnapped me and brought me before their king. That's the story he told me while I was there." I explained as Kenny's eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise.

"Damn, that's quite a responsibility." Kenny said as he adjusted the extremely girly bow across his back. "I don't know if I could do it though: in case you didn't get the memo, I'm not normal Kenny." I griped, causing Kenny to put a gloved hand on my shoulder. "So? Nothing in this town is normal Saphira, doesn't mean anything here. And if you're not normal: then what are you?" he asked as quietly and as carefully as he could, as if he somehow KNEW this subject was a lot bigger than what I was letting on. "I'm less than human, but also something more." I said, leaving it at that as we continued on our way to recruit Eric's 'best warriors'.

"Who should we recruit first Kenny? You know South Park a lot better than I do." I asked as Kenny suddenly became thoughtful. "Well Craig's house is closest, so we should go to his house." he said as I nodded before following Kenny to the boy in question's house. The rest of the walk was pretty quiet, mainly because neither of us knew what to say: it wasn't an awkward or bad silence though and I was grateful for that. Following Kenny up the driveway of a tan-colored house, I made sure I had the letter addressed to Craig before knocking on the door.

After a minute, a middle-aged man with balding orange hair answered the door. "Ya looking for Craig?" he asked as I nodded. "Yes sir, is he home?" I asked, surprising the man with my politeness. "Sorry kids but he can't play. He's in detention, something about flippin' off the principle." he said before closing the door, leaving Kenny and I to try something else. "Now what? If Craig can't play with us, who should we go for next?" I asked as Kenny thought for a minute before answering.

"We could get Tweek, but…" he started before scratching the back of his neck. "But what? What's so bad about Tweek?" I asked as we turned around and began walking in the direction of where we would find him. "Tweek's addicted to coffee and is always spazzing and twitching. He is also extremely paranoid and will scream about the smallest things, he's a good friend but…" he explained as I turned to him in surprise.

"His parents give him coffee? Well that probably explains why he acts that way, don't worry Kenny: I won't judge you guys." I reassured as I gave his shoulder a pat before continuing down the icy sidewalk. Before he could reply, we heard a lot of shouting that sounded like a bunch of girls. Rolling my eyes as Kenny's became mischievous, we came across a group of girls who were tormenting a little blonde girl by keeping something of hers out of reach.

Growling to myself, I signaled Kenny to wait a minute before I stormed over to the bullying girls. "Hey!" I shouted, effectively catching their attention. "Beat it kid, if you know what's good for you." a girl in a grey hoodie threatened as she palmed her fist, making me laugh until I cried. "You think this is funny bitch?!" a girl in a light-blue sweater and really poofy hair snarled as all three of them approached me with their fists raised. "Actually I do, you should watch who you threaten: for they might just kick your ass." I replied nonchalantly as they circled me, not that I gave a shit.

"That's it, you're going down!" the one in grey shouted as she charged me. Ducking under her fist, I snatched her by the throat and shoved her into her friends, sending all of them to the pavement. Growling in anger, the one in blue tried her luck: only for me to snatch her by the hair and ram my knee into her face, giving her a bloody nose and making her fall into the snow. Slipping into the Tiger stance, I motioned for the one in red to try and attack me, and the stupid girl she was: fell for the taunt.

Snatching the girl's wrists, I jumped into the air and spun her around before slamming her into the ground. Smirking at the last girl, I laughed as she fearfully gathered her friends and took off running as fast as their legs could carry them. Once they were gone, I approached the little girl as she picked up the toy that had been kept from her. "Whew…thanks! I owe you one kid." she said as she held the toy to her. "No need to thank me, was just at the right place at the right time, that's all." I replied as she became confused for a second before smiling and dashing off somewhere.

Turning back to Kenny, I saw that he was staring at me with an emotion I couldn't place. "What?" I asked, snapping him out of whatever THAT was all about as he shook his head with a shrug of his shoulders and continued leading me down the sidewalk. At the pace we were going, it didn't take us long to reach the marketplace, why we were here I didn't know: and I really wasn't going to ask as Kenny stopped walking in front of a crosswalk, where I spotted a man hiding behind a bush. Cautiously approaching him, I saw that he had a fake mustache and glasses on his face as his gaze shifted from one direction to another.

Feeling my body suit shift and tense up, I stared intently at the man as he began talking in a hushed voice. "Don't worry kids: I'm not here to hurt you. It's me: Al Gore, you know? I'm super important. All right look- I've detected some VERY strange activity in this area." he said, instantly making me tense up in fear that he was talking about me. "I believe we are dealing with…ManBearPig." he continued, making me feel relieved that it wasn't me that he was referring to, but also confusing the shit out of me. 'The fuck is this guy smoking?' I wondered as I cleared my throat, making him stop ranting.

"What is ManBearPig?" I asked him, making him look at me as if I had grown three heads. "What is…? ManBearPig is a monster that is part man, part bear and part pig, he is notorious for gobbling up little kids like you." he explained, making a feeling of dread to settle in my gut. 'Sounds like something Blackwatch would send after me, if this thing is real: then I need to get rid of it before it kills anyone.' I thought as Al Gore continued his explanation.

"I know you're scared, but I need help. Take these sensors and place them in the specific locations on the ManBearPig map." he said as he handed me three solar-powered lights before disappearing behind one of the nearby buildings, leaving Kenny and I to continue on our quest for finding Tweek in a town that was proving to be weirder than I had originally thought.


	17. Chapter 17

Ironically, Kenny only walked another ten feet or so before coming to a stop in front of a small building by the name of Tweak Bros. Coffee Shop. Looking inside the cozy little shop, I saw a few customers and a couple people at the register: but no sign of any kids. "Is this the place?" I asked Kenny as he nodded before holding the door for me, like a true gentleman. "Thanks Kenny." I said, smiling at my feminine-dressed friend as we approached the counter, where a man in a dark-purple sweater stood drinking coffee.

"Welcome to Tweak Coffee. Coffee made with ingredients made by local organic suppliers, brewed locally. How can I help you?" he asked as I checked to make sure I still had Tweek's letter from Eric. "We're looking for Tweek, is he here?" I asked as the man smiled before nodding. "He sure is! Hold on a minute kids and I'll call him for you." he said before placing his coffee down on the counter. "Tweek? Tweek!" he called towards a door, probably one that led to the back room. "GAH!" came a startled voice from behind the door. 'That must be Tweek.' I thought as the man continued.

"Have you picked up the fresh local ingredients?" he asked as the sound of multiple things crashing and falling made themselves known. "AH! NOT YET DAD! I'M STILL TRYING TO FINISH ALL MY CHORES!" the panicked voice yelled as the loud sounds increased, as if he were trying to do multiple things at once. "Well hurry up son, the family business is relying on you!" Mr. Tweak said before turning his attention back to us. "Tweeks' in the back if you want to go talk to him, but don't take long: he still has chores to finish." he said as he returned to his work as Kenny and I walked over to the door leading to the back room.

Before I opened the door, I glanced at Kenny, who had a slightly-nervous expression on his face. "Don't worry Kenny, I'm not going to judge you for who you're friends with or how they act." I said, watching as his expression became relieved as he gave me a hug. "That really means a lot, I just hope you really mean that." Kenny said before opening the door, letting us in the back room: where supplies of all sorts were scattered across the floor. Navigating the mess, we came across a boy with wild blonde hair in an olive-green jacket with mismatched buttons erratically sweeping the floor.

Approaching him, I saw that he was constantly vibrating, as if he couldn't stop. "Excuse me." I called softly, as to not startle him: which proved meaningless as he screamed and dropped his broom. "WH-WHAT? WH-WHO'S THAT?" he yelled at the top of his lungs and frantically looked around, as if there was something that was out to get him. Giving Kenny a reassuring look, I carefully walked up to the nervous boy so that he could see me clearly. After my…incident with the military, Alex had acted similar to how this boy does for a while: so I knew how to approach panicky people.

As soon as he saw me, he twitched violently and quickly backed away from me, hiding behind his broom as he did so. Staying where I was, I sent him a kind smile before crouching down on the floor: to physically show him I wasn't a threat. Behind me, I felt Kenny watching me intently: as if he were trying to figure out what I was doing. "It's okay: I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Saphira, are you Tweek?" I asked as he about jumped out of his skin as I spoke to him, but he did lower the broom. "Y-YES I'M TWEEK! It's N-NICE to…nngh!...meet you!" he greeted as he twitched violently again, before setting down to a constant vibrating. Slowly rising from my crouch, I showed Tweek my hands, so he knew I wasn't going to hurt him. "I have a letter for you Tweek, it's from Eric." I said as I carefully handed the letter to him before backing away.

"What's this?! GAH! NOW! The guys need me NOW?! Oh there's no way man! I have WAY too much to do!" he panicked as he suddenly started shaking me with a terrified look in his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kenny move forward to try to help me: only to have me discreetly hold my hand out to signal him to wait. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ALL THIS?! Wait-YOU! Could you go get the four o'clock delivery for me?! If you do then I could finish here and then- and then I'll still have time to play!" he shouted as he literally bounced on his feet where he stood.

"Sure Tweek, I'll help you. Where is the delivery?" I asked as he spazzed before digging an envelope out of his pocket. "It's at Kenny's house-like always! Y-You give them THIS- they'll give you the delivery!" he said before he frantically returned to his chores as I slowly backed away and followed Kenny out the door and back outside. "How did you do that? I've never seen Tweek that open with strangers before." Kenny said as I placed the envelope in the pocket of my hoodie so I wouldn't lose it.

"Alex had acted that way for a while, when he was little: he became traumatized and wouldn't let anybody near him. I've learned that you can't really speak to people like that with words, they respond better when you use body language and go slow. Kind of like when you approach a scared animal: if you force yourself on them before they're ready, you'll get bit. But if you move at their pace: you'll have a loyal companion for life." I explained as Kenny once again looked at me with that unidentifiable look in his eyes. It wasn't a bad look, but it made me feel kinda weird and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

As I followed Kenny across several crosswalks and down a couple streets, I noticed that he was acting a bit off: as if he knew something I didn't. 'What is it about Kenny's house that has him so stressed?' I wondered as I pulled on his sleeve to make him stop walking. As he turned to me, I saw he refused to make eye contact with me, instead reached up and pulled the drawstrings of his parka: closing the opening completely. Once he did that, he slumped his shoulders and sat down in a snowbank, ignoring my concerned looks completely.

"What's the matter Kenny?" I asked as I crouched on the ground next to him, ignoring a group of elves challenging us to fight. Instead of responding like I'd hoped, he just curled himself into a ball and didn't even acknowledge the fact that I said anything. "C'mon Kenny, you can tell me what's bothering you: I won't poke fun or judge you, I promise." I said as he gripped his arms as tightly as he could. Looking closer, I noticed his entire form was shaking: and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the fact that he was practically buried in the snow. "It's-It's my family." he muttered so softly that I wasn't even sure he said anything before hiding his face in his arms. "What about your family?" I asked carefully as he shuddered for a second.

"I don't think you should meet them…that's all." he said emotionlessly as he shook harder than before. "Kenny, are you…ashamed of your family?" I asked with wide eyes as he let out a quiet and obviously held back sob, giving me all the proof I needed. "My family…doesn't live in the best part of town: my parents aren't right in the head either." he sniffed before becoming silent again, and I had a feeling that he wasn't going to say any more than that on the subject. Even though it was nothing to be proud of, I was beyond happy and grateful at the fact that Kenny trusted me enough to open up to the point where he was legitimately crying at my feet. 'So…THAT'S what this is about.' I thought with a small smile as I pulled the feminine-dressed boy into a hug, holding on tight as he tensed up for a minute.

"Don't worry Kenny: I don't care about how much money you have, how your parents are or where you live. I care about you guys and consider you and Mysterion my best friends, you have nothing to be ashamed of: because nothing is going to change that." I said as Kenny suddenly had me in a hug tight enough that I was positive would make me turn blue if I was a normal human. Flipping off the elves as they joked and laughed at our predicament, I stood up and helped Kenny to his feet. Waiting patiently as he adjusted his wig and wiped his eyes, I checked my phone to see that I had a very angry text from Clyde: apparently he blamed me for Eric kicking him out of Kupa Keep, to which I replied that it wasn't my fault that we had been ambushed and overrun.

At Kenny's nudge, I put my phone away and followed him across some railroad tracks and into a more run-down area of town. "Are you SURE you wanna do this?" Kenny asked as he kicked the dirty snow in shame. "Remember what I said Kenny, besides: if Tweek doesn't show up Eric's gonna be pissed. So the sooner we get what he needs, the sooner we can get back." I said as he heaved a large sigh before nodding, leading me over to a sickly-green house. The fact that THIS was Kenny's house came as such a shock to me, that I had actually stopped walking: broken beer bottles covered the snow and lay in the dirt, the fence hardly had any posts on it, and the ones it had were rotting and termite infested. The house itself was hardly even a house: it was more of a shed that was literally falling apart where it stood.

The window was shattered with shredded curtains blowing through the holes, the paint and walls were cracking, and the snow-covered roof had large holes in it. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the road was cracked and broken with dead weeds sticking through. As I took in the garage, I saw the door was bent, and the roof was on the verge of collapsing at any minute. 'So…this is why Kenny didn't want me to see where he lived, poor Kenny.' I thought sadly as I knocked on the door, very aware how Kenny stepped off to the side and pulled the drawstrings of his parka again.

After a minute or two the door opened, revealing a rather dirty red-haired lady that I assumed to be Kenny's mom. She wore a faded and stained green shirt with the words 'I'm with stupid' on the front and well-worn blue jeans. "What?" she questioned in a southern accent that I was quite used to hearing back in Florida. Digging out the envelope Tweek gave me, I handed it to her as she took in Kenny's costume.

"Ah, this isn't for ME: this is for the nice people who are renting the guest house out the back." she said in a nicer tone as she directed me to the garage. 'People are actually LIVING in there?!' I thought, amazed that the garage was standing, let alone HOUSING people. Thanking her, I motioned for Kenny as he followed wordlessly after me. Seeing him depressed as he was, and how he was forced to live got me thinking of an idea, I just hoped it wouldn't turn into an utter failure.


	18. Chapter 18

Walking over to the garage, I carefully navigated a pile of glass before effortlessly lifting the terribly rusted door, exposing a rat-infested mattress and a broken door. "You don't have to come in with me Kenny." I said as Kenny played with the hem of his dress before glancing over at me. "But who's gonna watch your back?" he asked as I sent a grin his way. "I'm good, besides: if we're both in there, who's going to protect us from those elves over there?" I replied, pointing at the same group of elves who had been challenging us earlier.

Following my finger, his gaze turned from worried to determined as he slung his bow from his back and notched an arrow. "I'd like to see those elves TRY to get in." he said as he glared at the elves who continued to throw taunts and insults at us. "I won't be long." I said as I pat his shoulder before cautiously walking inside the garage and over to the door. Glancing back at Kenny, I saw that he hadn't moved from his spot, making me sigh in relief. 'Good, now I can get to the bottom of this whole thing.' I thought as I placed my hand on the doorknob. Ever since I saw Tweek, I had been suspicious as to why he couldn't stop moving. I had also picked up a strange scent amongst the coffee ingredients that didn't fit with your typical blend. That, and the fact that people are living in Kenny's garage: it was time to get to the bottom of it, right now.

Stepping through the door, I immediately covered my sensitive nose as multiple toxic smells bombarded me all at once. Once I overcame the smell, I took in the area that USED to be a garage. What had been a place for cars is now a laboratory where three filthy people stood smoking and working with the equipment. The sight brought back so many flashbacks that I had to literally slap myself to keep from crying. Once I had control of myself, I approached the smoking man, grateful that Kenny hadn't come with me: just in case if I was forced to use defensive means.

"Yeah yeah we got the package for Tweak Coffee. You got the envelope?" he questioned me as he took a long drag from his cigarette. "Here." I said, tossing it to him with narrowed eyes. As he picked it up, the second man walked up next to him and glared at me. "Hey…that's not the usual kid that picks up the package." he said to the first one. 'No shit, whatever gave you THAT idea?' I thought sarcastically as the first man suddenly jumped in realization. "Huh? Oh shit! IT'S A COP!" he shouted as all three of them picked up weapons: the first man had a pipe, the second had a plunger and the woman had a broken bottle. "A cop? You guys SERIOUSLY think I'm a cop?" I said with a deadpanned look on my face at their absolute stupidity.

Dodging the man with the pipe, I brought my elbow back and rammed it into the base of his skull as he passed me, rendering him stumbling and tripping over his feet before running into the wall. Once he was down, the second man tried his luck, only to have me rip the plunger from his grasp and hit him in the stomach with the handle, knocking the wind out of him. As he knelt on the disgusting floor, I nailed him in the side of the head with a brutal roundhouse kick, sending him sprawling into a table, sending the contents everywhere in the process.

Before I had time to turn around, the woman suddenly snatched me by the hair and ran a knife across my throat, sending dark-red blood to follow the weapon's path. Thinking she killed me when I didn't move, I caught her off guard when I threw both my elbows back into her, sending her flying into the concrete of the wall that was about ten feet away. As she dropped to the floor, I saw that she left a dent in the wall and a red streak where she landed.

Gagging slightly as the veins, tendons and muscles put themselves back together and healed, I walked over to a set of uneven shelves: where Tweek's package sat. Looking up at the top shelf where the package was, I raised my left arm and let the virus do my bidding. As my arm changed into a bright-red and black glowing limb that I had come to call Whipfist: which was as long as I was tall, I was able to simply reach up and take the package without having to do some tedious climbing or any other bullshit. Backing out of the room, I discretely gave the bag a sniff: only to recoil at the intensity of the scent.

Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I approached Kenny, who was still standing guard at the entrance with three 'dead' elves at his feet. "You have it?" Kenny asked when he saw me walk up beside him. "Yup, now let's get back to Tweek so we can get this over with." I said as we both rather eagerly started walking away from Kenny's house and back to the coffee shop, leaving me to silently question where I have smelled this 'ingredient' before. One thing was for sure, it wasn't anything legal by any means…and that made me even more suspicious than I already was.

As we walked back into town I noticed that Kenny was acting a lot more like the boy I first saw in Kupa Keep. It seemed to me that the further we walked from his house the happier he got: it even came to the point where he was openly flirting with me. He wasn't even subtle at all and it was even obvious to a blind person what he wanted from me with how close he was walking and his 'accidental' touches. I was half-tempted to tell him where he could stick that bow, but on the other hand he hadn't really crossed any boundaries.

'This kid literally has no shame.' I thought embarrassed as Kenny skipped next to me and told me about all the perverted and disgusting things he had done with the rest of the boys. As we turned onto the street where Tweak Coffee was located, I suddenly remembered where I had smelled that ingredient before: and it hit me with such force that I had tripped over my own feet and face-planted the snow. "Uh Saphira…what the hell was that?" Kenny asked, causing me to flip him the bird as he started laughing. "Jesus Christ." I muttered in shock as Kenny turned to me when he heard the worried tone in my voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he tilted his head to the side in a manner that I would've found adorable if the situation wasn't as serious as it was. "Kenny….do you know what this ingredient is?" I asked slowly as I fearfully stared at the package in my hand. "It's the secret ingredient for Tweak Coffee." he answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "No Kenny, this is some VERY bad stuff that should've never seen the light of day. This is why Tweek acts the way he does, Kenny: they're drugging him!" I explained while trying not to lose my shit at the fact that I was CARRYING Crystal Meth, in PUBLIC no less. My reaction was having a negative effect on Kenny because his eyes widened as large as they could go before he started freaking out.

"What do we do?!" he yelped as he tugged harshly on his wig before rapidly checking to see if anyone was coming. "We calm down first of all." I said, taking a deep breath and tried to relax. "Okay, I have an idea: please don't hate me for it because it's necessary." I said as Kenny stopped bouncing around and stared at me with worried eyes. "What're you gonna do?" he asked suspiciously as he glanced down at the package in my hand. "I'm going to give the package to Tweek-" "NO! You can't do that!" he interrupted furiously as he tried to take the bag from me, only to have me hold it out of his reach. "Kenny! Let me finish damnit!" I yelled, causing him to back off and fiddle nervously with his hands.

"As I was saying: I'm going to give the package to Tweek so his dad doesn't suspect anything. Then I'm going to see if I can meet with Mysterion tonight so I could find a way to expose this. We can't do it now because it's a kind of test people like Tweek's dad pull, and we ESPECIALLY can't do it when I'm holding the fucking thing." I told him as I glared at the paper bag in my hand. "How will you meet with Mysterion?" Kenny asked nervously as a couple people walked past us: they didn't double-glance at us, thank god. "He sometimes comes to visit me, but I don't want to keep him from his 'superhero' work by expecting him to take an early night. I'll just have to go looking for him instead, I already have a pretty good idea of where to find him anyway." I said.

"B-But South Park is dangerous at night! And what if you get lost?" he questioned, concerned. 'Not as dangerous as I am.' I thought bitterly as I gave Kenny a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself and I won't get lost now c'mon: the sooner we get rid of THIS, the sooner we could get back to Kupa Keep." I said as I sped-walked over to the coffee shop with Kenny hurrying along behind me, both of us more than ready to be rid of the crystalized poison we were tricked into delivering.


	19. Chapter 19

It took all I had not to glare at Mr. Tweak as Kenny and I reentered the coffee shop. Sensing my irritation, Kenny pulled me into the back room where I was immediately assaulted by Tweek. "You did it! YOU GOT THE PACKAGE! OH THANKS, MAN!" Tweek yelled as he suddenly had me in a tight bear hug, which shocked the hell out of me considering how skittish he was acting earlier. "It wasn't a problem Tweek, always happy to help." I said with a grin as Tweek took the 'package' from me and turned to Mr. Tweak as he entered the back room.

"Dad! I finished my work, can I go play?" he asked, twitching as Mr. Tweak took the bag from him, causing Kenny and I to share a look. Dipping his finger in the bag, I held back a grimace as Mr. Tweak tasted the contents before looking at the bag with a satisfied and slightly-glassy look. "Hm, yup that's good shit. Alright Tweek, you can go play for a little bit, but be back home before it gets dark or you'll be grounded. Grounded: like the fresh grinds of our All-Organic Tweak Blend, made from ingredients from local tweekers." he warned as Tweek twitched violently before turning to me.

"Thanks Saphira! I gotta go get changed, then I'll meet you at the kingdom!" he spazzed before dashing off out the door, leaving Kenny and I to calmly follow after him, but not before I narrowed my eyes in a hateful glare as Mr. Tweak began pouring the contents of the bag into the coffee grinder. Now that Tweek was able to play, Kenny began leading me to Token's house: which was all the way across town. It wasn't all bad though, I got to see some of the sights South Park had to offer: there was the movie theatre, where an obnoxious teenager was mocking us for our age. The playground, where multiple kids of various ages played and hung out. The Community Center, which to me looked like the perfect place for Mysterion to be, as well as the mall: which was huge for such a small town. Then, there was Stark's Pond, which I found to be the most peaceful of all.

The pond itself was the size of a small lake and even though frozen, I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what was beneath that layer of ice. I was snapped out of my fearful state by a large ball of snow hitting me in the ear. "GAH! WHAT THE FUCK?!" I shrieked as the assailant started rolling in the snow and laughing their ass off. Wiping the frozen water from my field of vision, I found Kenny making another snowball with mischievous eyes, only to stop as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Kenny…you BASTARD!" I yelled as I suddenly pounced on the boy, holding him down as he yelped when I started stuffing his parka full of snow.

"Yeah! How do ya like THAT?! Karma's a bitch!" I cried with a laugh as he suddenly bucked me off in a burst of surprising strength before quickly ripping his parka off: releasing the multiple pounds of snow in the process. As he brushed the icy water from his body, I was finally able to see what he looked like: he was blonde, with his hair as messed up as I had expected. His face was kind, even though he was glaring at me with an irritated scowl on his face. But what really made me feel bad…was the fact that most of his bones were slightly visible from lack of food. Taking my gaze away before he noticed, I smirked cockily as he put his parka and dress back on with a huff.

"You're an asshole." he griped as I stuck my tongue out at him, only to get another face full of snow. "W-What? You didn't like my Whitewash, Kenny?" I asked innocently as I laughed when he crossed his arms in a pout. "I'll show YOU a Whitewash!" he yelled as he started towards me in a threatening manner. "Oh shit!" I squeaked as I started running away from Kenny as fast as a fourth grader could, that way he could keep up. He didn't get the chance to get his revenge as we arrived in front of a large gated community by the name of Dark Meadows, where a security guard stood glaring at us from inside his booth. Approaching the guard, he immediately stormed out of the booth and leered down at us.

"Sorry kids, but this is a gated community: no one's getting in under MY watch." he growled as I tried to pull the polite card. "We're just going to visit our friend Token, he lives here." I tried: hissing in pain as the guard suddenly pulled out a can of pepper spray and sprayed me right in the eyes. 'Shit shit shit this burns!' I thought as I forced myself to cry, forcing the burning mist out of my eyes. "Saphira, you okay?" Kenny asked, concerned as I nodded before glaring at the guard. "What the hell is WRONG with you?! You can't pepper spray people unless they are causing too much of a ruckus, while I just ASKED a simple question!" I shouted as the guard crossed his arms and smirked at me.

"I told you brat: no one's getting in under MY watch. Try that again, and I'll pepper spray you into next week." he threatened, causing my body suit to twitch and vibrate as I clenched my fists in anger. "I'll have you know my father works at the Pentagon, ONE word from me: and you can kiss your job and your life goodbye." I snarled as the guard's eyes widened the slightest bit before shaking the little can and made to spray me again. This time I was prepared for it, as I used just enough of my abilities to create an invisible shield over my eyes, rendering the offensive spray useless, as the guard soon found out. "What the fuck?! Oh shit!" he cried as I smirked evilly at him as Kenny unsheathed his bow and stood by me. 'Yeah that's right, fear me: for I'm your worst nightmare.' I thought as the guard jumped at us with his baton raised.

Blocking it with my sword, I quickly spun around and elbowed him below the belt, causing him to grunt in pain as Kenny laughed. Taking his turn, Kenny notched and shot not one, but three arrows: all of them hitting home right between the guard's eyes. 'Damn Kenny, nice shot.' I thought impressed as the guard tried to hit me, only to have me step to the side and whack him in the chest with the hilt of my sword. What surprised me, was the fact that Kenny pulled a pair of rats out of his parka and started singing a muffled song: calling in an entire swarm of rodents that lunged and attacked the guard at his command.

As he finished the song, the rats scurried away, leaving the guard to back away and hide inside his booth like a little wuss. "Holy shit Kenny! That was awesome." I cheered as the guard started crying like the little girl he was: I mean, who in their right mind pepper sprayed kids anyway? "Move…along…" the guard grunted as he started putting multiple bandages on his scrapes, leaving Kenny and I to pass through the gate without any more complaint. Walking up the cobblestone walkway, Kenny placed his bow back on his back before placing his hand on my shoulder to make me stop. "I didn't know your dad worked at the Pentagon, Saphira." he said as I placed my sword back in its place through my belt before looking at him.

"He doesn't." I replied, giggling at my friend's confused face. "But you said-oh!" he said, finally getting it as he saw the attempt I made not to laugh. Sharing a high-five, we walked up the driveway of an impressive-sized house that closely rivaled the ones commonly seen in Pinecrest: a rich district in Miami. 'Damn, Token has it nice.' I thought as Kenny motioned for me to ring the doorbell. Doing so, the door opened after a minute, revealing a dark-skinned boy in a light-purple sweater with a yellow T on the front. "Yeah?" he asked with a slightly-confused look on his face.

"Hi, I'm Saphira MacManus. Are you Token?" I asked as he slowly nodded. "Yeah I'm Token, can I help you?" he questioned as I pulled the letter addressed to him out of my pocket and handed it to him. "What's this? Oh…the elves took The Stick again? Hold on a minute." he said, closing the door before the sound of him running up stairs made itself known. After a few minutes the door reopened, making my eyebrows shoot up at the sight of Token. Instead of earlier, he was now dressed in a purple vest with a white jacket on underneath, brown gloves with gold snowflakes on them, orange pants with black boots and a belt that had plastic knives attached to it, with a red headband and a red cape down his back: all in all, he looked pretty badass to me.

"Thank you for thy message, traveler! I shall make haste to Kupa Keep! Mom! Can you drive me to Eric's house?" he called over his shoulder as Kenny and I hurried away from the house and back to Kupa Keep, taking as many shortcuts as possible. Dashing up Eric's driveway and inside the house, I once again said hello to Mrs. Cartman after I cleaned the dirt and snow from my boots before entering the backyard with Kenny in tow. Taking in the growing army, I saw that Tweek had made it and was dressed oddly: he had removed his jacket and had covered himself in black war paint in the form of tiger stripes with a sword at his side and a crossbow on his back.

Watching as Kenny left my side to stand with the others, I took my place next to Butters, sending Tweek a reassuring smile as he gave a startled jump at my sudden appearance. "All soldiers reporting for duty Grand Wizard!" Butters called towards the tent, where everyone present stood near. "Nice work MacManus, now all my men are here and ready to fight for the-hold on: where's Feldspar? Where the hell is my level twelve Thief?!" Eric questioned as he walked out of the tent and stood in front of us. "If you mean Craig, his dad said he was in detention for flipping off the principal." I said as Tweek twitched violently while Eric face-palmed at my information.

"Oh my god…if they've locked up our thief, then we have no hope of reclaiming The Stick of Truth. We have to break him out!" Eric said as Tweek started panicking something fierce as the others shared nervous looks. "AH! No way man! The last time we broke Craig out of detention we ALL got in trouble!" Tweek shouted while pulling his hair, calming down slightly after I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not if they didn't know it was us." I said, catching everyone's attention. "What do you suggest MacManus?" Eric asked suspiciously as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Normally, I would offer my brother to replace Craig since he's a Thief too: but he isn't home right now. Besides, the people at school know all of you: they don't know me nearly as well. Here's my plan: you guys wait here while Butters waits outside the school and pretends to hang out and mind his own business, while I sneak inside and get Craig. Win win for all of us." I said as Eric rubbed his double-chin before glancing at me. "My god, MacManus you're a genius! Just for that, we'll be sure to break YOU out of detention." he said, clapping me hard on the back as everyone else quickly agreed, Tweek not so much.

"Can't punish what you can't catch." I said mysteriously with a sinister smile that was quickly copied by the Grand Wizard. "I'm starting to like how you think MacManus, now come with me: it's time you learned Dragonshout." Eric said before walking over to the training ground, once again leaving me to question just what the hell I got myself into.


	20. Chapter 20

Following after Eric, I stared curiously at a pair of makeshift training dummies sitting in the middle of the ring. Feeling my phone buzz, I checked it to find a text from Eric saying he felt as if our friendship has risen to the ultimate level. "Aw, thanks Eric." I said as he kicked the snow with a scowl on his face. "Yeah yeah whatever, now get your ass over here." he griped as he rolled his eyes in annoyance while I took my time walking over to him, just to piss him off. Once I took my place, Eric stood as straight as he could before addressing me.

"You fight well MacManus, but in order to truly succeed in combat you must learn to harness the full power…of your farts." he said as my eyebrows shot up to my hairline. "Tell me you're joking." I said, laughing at the mere thought of such a thing. When he didn't laugh along, I saw that he was actually serious. 'Why would I EVER do such a thing, when I could do so much better?' I wondered as Eric continued to explain the so-called 'Dragonshout' to me. "Farting on your opponent at the right time is key to victory in battle. I shall show you how it's done, but you must FIRST take the Gentlemen's Oath. Farting on an opponent is necessary, but you must promise to NEVER, EVER fart on a man's balls: farting on someone's balls is NOT COOL." he said, making me laugh so hard I cried, even after he hit me in the head with his stick.

"Hey bitch! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!" he yelled as I rubbed the bump forming in the middle of my head. "Yeah I heard ya, it's just the thought of this is funny to me." I replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose before walking over to the dummies. "To conjure Dragonshout, you must first clear your mind and take a deep breath through your asshole…like so." he explained as he suddenly bent over and produced a large enough and loud enough fart to actually move the dummies. 'I may be a tomboy, but there's no way in hell I'm doing that.' I thought as he stood up and gestured to me. "Now you try." he instructed, narrowing his eyes as I shook my head at him.

"No thanks, I've got something better." I said, crossing my arms as Eric slammed the end of his stick down on the ground in anger. "Oh yeah?! Prove it then: show me something BETTER than Dragonshout." he ordered, causing me to smirk before cracking my knuckles. "Alright, you asked for it Eric. You MIGHT want to back up a little more." I warned as he took my advice and backed up a few more steps. Once he was out of the way, I clenched my right hand into a fist as I glared at the training dummies in front of me. In a sudden burst of strength, I punched the ground: sending a shockwave strong enough to clear Eric's backyard of snow and knock the dummies off their posts.

Pulling my hand out of the small hole in the icy ground, I turned around to find everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at me in a mix of shock, awe, confusion and fear. Glancing at Eric, I saw that his jaw was hanging loosely with his eyes the size of dinner plates; I don't even think he noticed that he had dropped his stick on the ground. "My god that was…incredible. A man could go for a thousand years and never once witness a technique so…moving. Could it be that the Savior has come at last, in our hour of need?" he said, more to himself than me.

"I sure as hell HOPE so, you still FORGOT to mention that to me when Alex and I first showed up you asshole." I said as I turned around and followed the Grand Wizard back towards the tent, consciously aware of how the rest of the boys gave me a wide berth. Motioning for Butters, the timid paladin nervously approached while hiding behind his hammer. "Paladin Butters will assist you on your quest to free Craig from detention. Now go get him while I rest and relax upon my throne." Eric commanded, making me roll my eyes as Butters and I walked out of the backyard and down the sidewalk that led to the school.

I couldn't for the life of me find it in me to pay attention as Butters tried multiple times to engage me in some conversation or another. Instead, I was too busy berating myself over the fact that I had once again went against my parents' demands and used my power in public. To me, and everyone else who would know anything about what was going on with me would think I was ASKING Blackwatch to come and get me: by my own will or otherwise. 'What's wrong with me?! Showing off my power like that, how could I be so stupid?!' I thought, kicking my ass mentally into next week as poor Butters kept trying to get me to talk by spewing nonsense about something he saw on the way to school that had nothing to do with anything.

Glancing sadly at the sweet little boy next to me, I couldn't help but feel my heart clench as I realized that Blackwatch will NEVER let any of the people of South Park live while they searched the streets and homes for me. Since I can shapeshift, what better way to get rid of the 'problem' then to eradicate every last one of the residents of this town? It was then I decided that after I had helped Tweek, it would be best if I just left town all together in a probably futile attempt to keep Blackwatch focused on me and leave the rest of the town alone. It killed me inside to know that I had to leave without telling or saying goodbye to anyone but it had to be done for their safety. Despite this, I knew deep inside that I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Mysterion: he was practically the same as me after all.

As I thought about this whole mess I was in, I failed to notice the small rivers of tears running down my face: this detail didn't go unnoticed by Butters unfortunately. "H-Hey Saphira, you okay?" he said as he looked over to me with a concerned look on his face. "It's just the wind messing with my eyes Butters, don't worry about me." I told him as I kept walking towards the school that had just come into my sights. "B-But Saphira: there isn't any wind." Butters pointed out, running until he stood in front of me: preventing me from moving forward. "I said I'm fine Butters, now let's get Craig and go home already." I snapped as I walked around him, bluntly telling him I wasn't going to give him the reason why I had been crying: it was better to keep him clueless after all.

Grasping the handle of the double doors, I turned to Butters as he looked at me as if I had kicked him. "Butters look, I'm sorry: it's just that I have a lot of things going on right now, I didn't mean to snap at you. There are just some things about me that you guys can't know and it would be better for all of you if it stayed that way." I said, giving him a hug as he started sniffling. "Aw gee whiz, y-you should've j-just said so." he replied with a small grin as he bowed to me, keeping himself in character as he played his role by keeping watch outside. Nodding, I quietly slipped inside the school, glad that there wasn't anyone around at the moment as I checked the ceiling for any security cameras: only to find one at the end of the hall. Staying out of its sight, I flexed my spine: allowing my current clothing to once again change into my body suit.

Adjusting the flaps of my deep-black and glowing red jacket, I glanced around in search of anything that could help me in rescuing Craig. Looking near the water fountains, I spotted a mouse cleaning itself in the corner, completely oblivious to my presence. Snapping my finger in a sudden idea, I ran over and snatched the mouse by its tail and hurried out of sight of anyone or any camera that may be nearby. "I'm sorry little mouse." I apologized as I set it down on the floor before quickly raising my foot and stomped down on it. As soon as my foot came into contact with the little creature, making a temporary mess as I focused on using the virus to quickly consume it as it gave a startled squeak before becoming nothing more than another part of the hundreds of others I have consumed.

Focusing on the mouse I had just consumed, I became cloaked in biomass before the world became ten times bigger to me as the colors shifted, blending into a strange mix of reds and tans: as if I were watching an old movie. Looking down, I saw that my body had taken the form of the mouse perfectly as I checked to make sure I had every detail before sniffing the air for any threats. 'Hey if I look like a mouse, might as well act like one too.' I thought as I searched the mouse's memories to see if it knew where Craig might be held. After a few minutes of seeing hidden tunnels, food, other mice, and other useless things, I had finally found where they were keeping Craig.

Apparently, detention was held in the cafeteria and was being overseen by the school's counselor, Mr. Mackey. 'Good work little mouse, your death wasn't in vain after all.' I silently praised the rodent as I confidently strode past the hallway monitors as cockily as my short furry legs could move. Looking at the oblivious monitors, I saw that all of them were Ginger and couldn't help but wonder if they were Irish or not: not that it mattered as I approached the doors to the cafeteria. Once again thanking the little mouse, I dashed over to a place that was out of sight before shifting back to my original form and clothing. Unfortunately in doing so, I had attracted the attention of a large sixth grader that was holding a dodgeball attached to a stick with a thick chain. Looking closer, I had also noticed he was dressed in leather armor. 'Well fuck me.' I mentally groaned as I prepared to fight him, and hopefully break out Craig before I landed myself in detention too.


	21. Chapter 21

Sneering at me, the hall monitor threatenly approached me with his rather intimidating weapon at the ready. "You have advanced far enough intruder! Where's your hall pass?" he demanded as he glared at my fearless and slightly-bored form. 'Really? Does he honestly think that I'm going to be afraid of HIM? He doesn't even know what fear is.' I thought as I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't need a hall pass, schools over." I replied as I drew my sword, smirking as he grit his teeth in anger. "No hall pass? Then it's time to write you…a referral!" he growled with an evil smirk as he slammed the ball down on the floor, creating the classic noise in the process.

"Oh yeah! That's the Boss, good luck fighting the Boss M'kay. You still think this is a game young lady?" Mr. Mackey angrily yelled through the door, temporarily drawing my attention to him as the hall monitor charged me while my back was turned. Whirling around, I grabbed the chain of his weapon, halting him mid-attack. As I glared into his shocked eyes, I smirked wickedly at him. "Something you should know about me…never attack me while my back is turned." I snarled, pulling him and his weapon towards me, delivering a swift kick to his gut before using the momentum of my pull to fling him into the wall.

Making contact, he let out a shout of pain before jumping back up and tried to charge me again, only to have me side-step him and slash him in the back with my sword, knocking him to the floor as well as force him to drop his prized weapon. "God damnit! Don't you know there's no fighting in school?!" he yelped as I swung the dodgeball around, making a 'swoop' sound as I waited for him to stand back up. "Funny thing is…YOU attacked ME and you're the one crying about it, if you were told that you were going to get your ass handed to you by a GIRL, you'd probably laugh anyway: so what would be the point of warning you in the first place?" I asked as I slowly circled his hunched over form, chuckling darkly as his freckled face took on a nervous appearance.

"Holy shit…I know who you are: you're that kid that put Trent Boyett in the hospital! Please! Please don't hurt me! I didn't know it was you, promise! Just-Just let me go: let me go and then-and then we c-can just forget about this whole thing huh?" he pleaded: making me laugh as he frantically scurried backwards until his back was against the wall. 'Hmm, to free or not to free: that is the question.' I thought as I glared at the cowering sixth grader at my feet. "You go back and you tell all the other hallway monitors that I'm breaking my friend out of detention early, and I expect ZERO interference from any of them. If I find that you double-cross me: I'm going to teach you the REAL meaning of dodgeball." I warned as he rapidly scrambled to his feet and took off running, leaving his 'hallway monitor' sash behind.

"Well, that was thrilling." I said to myself as I approached the cafeteria doors, finding them typically firmly locked. Sighing, I reached under my beanie and removed my hairpins and got to work picking the locks. After about three minutes, I finally got it: allowing the doors to swing open, allowing me to see the dozen or so students inside. As soon as they saw the door was open, I quickly dashed to the side to avoid the stampede of students as they charged out to freedom. Among the students, was a boy dressed in a blue hat with a yellow poofball on top, a tan long-sleeved shirt with a black belt, chocolate-brown gloves and gray pants. On his back was a brown cape with a gold clasp in the front, and across his chest was a brown belt with pouches that probably held his weapon away from view.

'So this must be Craig, he seems pretty cool.' I thought as we sized each other up before he nodded in what I guessed to be approval. "DAMN YOU CRAIG!" Mr. Mackey yelled as we made our escape through the hallways, to my pleasant surprise: the hall monitor Boss had actually listened to me as the other hall monitors let us pass without much of a glance. As we charged out the doors, Butters turned around and sent a large toothy grin our way as he made his way over to us. "Thanks for busting me out kid. Who are you?" Craig said in a nasally voice that reminded me of Clyde as he stepped up next to me.

"I'm Saphira MacManus: fighter and Savior of Zaron." I introduced, not bothering with the rest of my talents because they weren't part of the game. "Savior huh? Showoff." he stated with a scoff, making me narrow my eyes in confusion. "I didn't choose the role: it was given to me by Kyle and Eric. By the way, this is for you." I replied, handing him the letter addressed to him as I watched the other kids dash off in different directions while he read the letter. "I see, very well: I shall head off to Kupa Keep. By the way, I heard you picking those locks and I guess I should say I'm impressed that a Fighter managed that one. See you at Kupa Keep." he said before strolling off in the direction of Eric's house, leaving Butters and I standing in front of the school.

Making our way back, Butters wouldn't stop bouncing around and making a fuss over how the hell I managed to free Craig all by myself. I simply told him that the hall monitors were stupid and couldn't find me if they tried. "Wow Wee Saphira! You're gonna level up for sure!" he cried, drawing several people's attention to us, to my embarrassment. "Alright alright Butters, I get it: you can calm down now." I said as we walked up the icy driveway, only to stop as a couple elves shouted at us from across the street. "Hey New Kid! Suck my balls!" the leader yelled, making my eye twitch before turning to them with a smirk.

"Beware, I bite!" I yelled back with a toothy grin, laughing as their faces paled as white as the snow before they dashed off, covering their 'valuables' while doing so. "Oh h-hamburgers!" Butters yelped as he crouched in the snow with his cape wrapped around his front. 'Oops.' I thought with an awkward chuckle as I understood what he was doing. "I was joking Butters." I told him as he breathed a sigh of relief before brushing himself off. "Oh a-alright then." he said as we once again reentered Eric's backyard: where everyone was standing as they waited on us. Spotting me, Kenny sent a flirty wave and a wink, giggling like a girl at the look on my face as Butters left my side to return to the Grand Wizard.

Taking my place, I saw Tweek give me a small nervous smile as Eric stepped out of the tent. "Gentlemen, thanks to one of the New Kids, our entire army is assembled. Her brother is away on a distant mission and will not return until the taverns open. It is my belief that she is worthy of ranking up in level, therefore, to honor her loyalty and efforts: she will no longer be called 'MacManus' I hereby dub thee…'Lady MacManus' congratulations!" Eric announced, causing everyone to erupt in applause before he raised his hand, rendering them silent as he continued.

"But now it is time that we reclaim what is rightfully ours, Lady MacManus's brother sent a carrier raven with news that The Stick of Truth hasn't yet reached the Elven Forest. It is now in possession of…The Bard." he said solemnly, causing everyone around me to share nervous looks and Tweek to panic and tug harshly on his hair. "OH GOD! NOT THE BARD!" the paranoid boy screamed as everyone but myself, Eric, and Craig started freaking out. "The Bard is a level ten Drow Elf who can use music to enchant and destroy his enemies." Butters explained while shaking like a leaf. Sharing a look with Eric, he nodded once before leading me over to the training ground again.

"Before you start, this isn't another one of those farts, is it?" I asked, face-palming as he nodded. "I understand that using those 'is key to victory', but why can't I just use my martial arts skills?" I asked as he reached over and whacked me in the head with his stick. "Because I'm the King and the King demands obedience, however since you saved The Lands of Zaron from Trent Boyett the Destroyer, I shall grant you free reign to use whatever tactic you see fit." he granted, speaking lowly so no one else could hear and get jealous and rebel against him.

"Thanks I guess." I replied as he summoned a group meeting in the spot where we had just been a minute ago. Watching as Eric's angry face split along the lines of pissed off: he slammed the end of his stick down on the ground: how it didn't break, I have no clue. "If the Carrier Ravens are correct, The Bard is taking refuge in the inn of The Giggling Donkey. We must find and defeat him before he can deliver The Stick to the Elven Forest!" he informed us with a glare as Butters drew his hammer and raised it high above his head.

"We must find The Bard and bring him to justice!" he shouted as everyone else prepared for what was to come, the tension so thick it made the hairs along my arms stand up as well as caused my body suit to quiver in anticipation. "Make haste to The Giggling Donkey!" Eric yelled as he pointed ahead with his stick, directing the charge toward the object that controls the entire universe, and the one who holds it hostage.


	22. Chapter 22

Following after the group, we took cover behind some snow-covered hedges as Eric cautiously peeked his head out. "There it is…the inn of The Giggling Donkey." he said, causing the rest of us to peek too. The 'inn' wasn't an inn at all: but a periwinkle-colored house, not that I should've been surprised in the least. From my space between Kenny and Butters, I was able to clearly hear the music and other kids from inside the house with my advanced senses. Unfortunately, my spot was also the perfect place for Kenny to irritate me with his insistent poking and sly glances.

"Kenny…if you want to keep that hand: I suggest you quit poking me." I warned, only to receive a giggle from him as he poked me in the chest, crossing the line as I grabbed hold of his head and shoved him into the hedge. As he thrashed wildly trying to escape the offending bush: I raised my head high and crossed my arms with a triumphant smirk on my face, which only turned into a grin as Eric rolled his eyes and the others snickered before turning their attention back to the house. "After you, New Kid." Eric said as he quite literally shoved me through the bush and onto the doorstep of the house.

Creeping up behind me, Eric turned to Butters as I prepared to ring the doorbell. "Paladin, are you sure The Bard is hiding out in here?" he questioned as Butters pulled out his phone. "T-That's what Twitter says." he replied as he held his phone up for us all to see the message that proved it. "CARRIER RAVEN, Butters!" Eric shouted, stomping his feet: scaring the poor kid into hiding behind his cape. "You didn't have to yell at him." I said as Butters sent me a nervous smile as Eric whirled around on me.

"Shut the hell up and get ready to open the fucking door! Craig, Token: guard the back door. Butters, Kenny, Lady MacManus…let's do this." he ordered as I rang the bell, while Craig and Token sprinted around to the back of the house. As soon as we were allowed inside, I couldn't help but give a low whistle at the sight of the so-called inn. Three round tables were spread throughout the living room with one candle each as well as groups of mean-looking kids. On the couch were coolers filled with different kinds of soda, where a kid with a fake mustache and nicely-combed hair stood cleaning a paper cup.

As I followed Eric into the house, I noticed Kenny was walking as close to me as possible out of the corner of my eye. Glancing to my left, I also noticed Butters anxiously looking at the other kids: who were staring at us as if we were pieces of meat. Baring my teeth, I strode confidently next to Eric, showing the rest of these kids I'm not intimidated by them in the least. "Stay close Lady MacManus, the inn of The Giggling Donkey harbors the scum of all Zaron." Eric warned as we approached the 'bartender', who eyed us warily as Eric leaned against the 'bar' like he owned it.

'Seriously? You could at least have enough decency to respect someone else's house.' I thought with a raised eyebrow as Eric tapped the 'bar' to get the kid's attention focused on him. "A glass of Meedlewine, please." Eric asked as the 'bartender' stopped cleaning his glass to look at him. "No Meedlewine today. Only Fairy Ale." he replied as he picked up another cup to clean. "A pint of Fairy Ale, then." Eric said, causing the 'bartender' to nod and prepare his drink with the jugs of soda on the couch behind him. Turning around to receive his drink, Eric tried to (what I guessed to be) casual: only to fail in a way I thought didn't exist.

"So…anyone see The Bard lately?" he asked, causing absolute silence to fill the once chatty and music-filled room. "Aw shit." I muttered as every single kid turned to us with murderous looks on their faces. "N-Nice going Grand Wizard." Butters gulped as he moved to draw his hammer. Even though this was a bad situation, I couldn't help but smirk at the slightly-worried look on Eric's face as he realized what he just did. "What? A cup of Fairy Ale isn't complete without some Bardic poems and songs." he said, trying to cover his not-so-subtle call-out. "Yeah we've seen 'im alright. He's got a room down in the cellar." the 'bartender' said tightly as he gestured over to a door in the corner of the room.

"And I shall pay handsomely for his services." Eric said, tossing a few coins on the table as he started pushing me over to the door. "Lady MacManus: you and Butters go down there and flush him out. Princess Kenny and I will be waiting up here to murder him, remember: The Bard can use songs to enchant, don't let him get to you." he warned as he opened the basement door and delivered a swift kick to my ass: sending me tumbling down the stairs, to his greatest amusement: Kenny and Butters didn't share his humor though. "Sie setzen Ihre fatass Ich werde Sie wieder für diesen Cartman zu bekommen." I growled at his laughing face as Butters timidly walked over and helped me up.

"EY! I'M NOT FAT I'M BIG-BONED!" Eric yelled as I flipped him off before gesturing for Butters to help me find The Bard. "Dude, she's pissed at you." I heard Kenny say before the door shut, blocking us from what was going on upstairs. I won't lie: the basement was pretty creepy with the lights off as well as the many boxes of stuff you'd typically find in a basement or attic. "Gee whiz Saphira, I can't see nothin'." Butters whimpered as he gripped the sleeve of my hoodie so he wouldn't somehow get lost. Focusing on my vision, I was able to enhance my sight well enough so I could guide Butters around without either of us tripping over ourselves.

"L-Lady MacManus? A-Are you sure this is the right way?" he stuttered as he tried to feel his way around the heavily-cluttered room. "We're in a basement Butters, we can't really get lost in here." I said as I helped him step over a tipped-over broom. "Oh yeah." he said quietly, only to freeze as I suddenly held my hand out in front of him. Getting the message, he stayed where he was as I glared at a shadowy form standing in the darkest corner of the basement. "I can see you, come out and nobody gets hurt." I called to the figure, only to get several surrounding laughs in response as Butters jumped and cowered behind me.

As I watched the figure's arms move, I let my body suit shift: making my hoodie appear to move on its own as the figure played a loot harshly: making both Butters and I cover our ears at the ear-splitting noise. As soon as the obnoxious sound stopped, Butters fearfully stared at the approaching figure. "Oh Jesus! It's The Bard!" he yelped as the figure finally showed himself clearly. He had crutches on his arms, a newspaper hat with a single white feather in it, and a yellow and green elf costume. As soon as he stopped walking he held up his loot before narrowing his eyes at us.

"Prepare for battle w-w-w-weaklings! Elves, fall in!" The Bard ordered, causing several elves to leap from the tops of boxes and form a circle around us. "You will pay for this, don't you elves know you are threatening the Savior of Zaron?!" I snapped: causing the elves to laugh as The Bard spoke up again. "I r-r-really don't care w-w-who you are: w-w-w-we don't follow the K-K-King of elves." he stuttered back as the rest of the rouge Drow Elves laughed and brandished their weapons. "Oh Hamburgers! W-We're surrounded!" Butters cried as he tried to keep track of all the elves at once while I stared The Bard down as his face split into a braces-covered grin.

"MACMAAANUS! IT'S A TRAAP!" Eric screamed from the top of the stairs as he and Kenny were snatched by the disguised elves upstairs, causing me to glare harder at The Bard and his followers as Butters and I prepared ourselves for either Kupa Keep's greatest victory yet, or its greatest ass-kicking of all time.


	23. Chapter 23

Baring my teeth slightly in defiance, I glared at each of the elves in turn as they made threatening gestures with their weapons. Scoffing as one of the elves drew his blade across his neck, I drew my own sword before glaring harshly at The Bard in front of me. "You should never have come here h-humans, I am a level ten Drow elf. And with the power of my lute, I shall power up my elven guards with magical songs of ench-with magical songs of encha-with magical songs of enchame-me-me-with magical songs of encha-cha-with magical songs of ench-chantment." he finally was able to say as the elves impatiently waited for him to get the word out.

However, once he did: all hell broke loose as the elves surrounding us slowly stalked forward, snapping Butters out of his shaken state and brandished his hammer. Keeping my eyes on The Bard, I watched as he staggered over to a short wooden box and climbed on top of it. "You're gonna wish you were never born." the elf with the sword growled as the two that backed him up readied their bows with suction cup arrows. 'I already do.' I thought as The Bard began playing a few notes on his lute. "There once was a maiden from Stonebury Hollow. She didn't talk much, but boy did she swallow." he sang in a voice that made you forget he had such a bad stutter.

Once the last note was played, the elves in front of us grinned wickedly and acted like the song had somehow made them stronger. Snickering at The Bard's choice of song, I sprinted forward and whacked the sword elf in the head with my sword, following up with a palm to the chest, rendering him defeated with a weakened cry. "Yeah! Th-That's how it's done!" Butters cheered as I returned to my spot with a triumphant smirk and waited for Butters to take his turn. Glaring at the elf in the middle, Butters charged him with a sneer on his face before stopping where the sword elf had fallen.

"By The Hammer of Butters." he said as he squinted his eyes shut before spinning around and threw his hammer into the first archer's face, causing him to fall to the floor. 'Damn Butters.' I thought impressed, rubbing my jaw in phantom pains as the kid stood back up and glared at us with a large red mark where the hammer hit. "Oh, I'm sorry." Butters said as he quickly ran back over to his spot. "Take this!" the elf shouted as he readied two arrows and shot them at Butters: who blocked them with his hammer, cringing as the elf shot two more at him, giving him a small bruise on his cheek.

Once the first archer's turn was over, the second one readied arrows with paper clips attached to them: giving them the appearance of being barbed. "Watch it Butters." I warned as the elf released the arrows at the timid boy next to me. Unfortunately, I had distracted him, allowing both arrows to hit him and scratch him well enough to make him bleed. Growling at the elf as Butters winced, I turned my heated gaze to The Bard as he began playing his lute again. "I have a nice lance that she sat upon. The maiden from Stonebury who was also your mom." he sang, causing my vision to lightly turn red-orange at the crippled boy's insult. "Watch what you say about my mom, before I feel obligated to forget the rules to this and kick your ass." I snarled as the archers gulped nervously as they prepared themselves for an attack.

Running forward, I jumped over the fallen elf and brought my heel down on the first archer's head: making him drop to his knees and cry. Seeing his friend go down the way he did, the second archer cast a scared glance at The Bard before raising his shaking weapon at me. "He's all yours Butters." I said as I returned to my spot and waited patiently to see what Butters would do. "Oh, a-alright then." he replied as he ran over to the kid and slammed his hammer down hard on the archer's toes. 'Ow Butters, that looks like it hurt.' I thought with a wince as the archer hobbled on one foot for a second before snarling at us in anger. "You'll pay for that!" he yelled as The Bard began playing his lute again.

"There once was a maiden from Stonebury Hollow. She didn't talk much, but boy did she swallow." he sang as the archer raised his bow and shot two arrows at me. Grabbing the first arrow mid-air, I used it to deflect the second one before either had a chance to touch me. Taking my turn, I ran forward and whacked the kid in the shoulder with my sword, ensuring this battle's victory. "We usually win." Butters said as he did a small dance of victory as I walked over and helped the fallen kids to their feet with a grin. "W-Wow what a butt-kicking." The Bard said as he hopped up the basement stairs and let three more elves inside. "Get down there and f-finish them off. I will protect The S-Stick of Truth." he ordered as his minions quickly bounded down the stairs after us.

"Shit man, can't we EVER catch a break?" I asked Butters, who shrugged before readying his hammer as we walked around the boxes of stuff toward the exit of the basement. "End of the line fucker." an elf in red armor said as the trio advanced us, only to stop directly in a small puddle that wasn't there before. As I tried to come up with a plan on how to defeat these elves quickly, I caught sight of Craig motioning to me from the basement window. "Hey Lady MacManus, up here." he called with a muffled voice, drawing the elves' attention up to him. 'Thanks Craig.' I thought with a small grin as I picked up one of the fallen archer's bows and carefully aimed at the window. Letting the string go, Butters and I watched as the little arrow hit the latch on the window, allowing Craig inside. "I'll handle this." he said in his nasally voice as he walked along the shelf and over to the electrical box attached to the wall.

"S-STOP HIM!" an elf in a green helmet shouted as Craig began playing with the wires: causing electricity to surge through the water and zap all three elves before they had a chance to get away from the puddle. After making sure none of them had been electrocuted, I looked up to thank Craig for his help, when his foot caught the edge of the shelf as he tried to jump down from his perch. "Ow!" he yelped as he sat on the floor and clutched his foot. "You alright Craig?" I asked as Butters and I hurried over to the fallen thief. "Ow my ankle, I think it might be broken." he said with a straight face, and that's how I figured out he was fine. '

Because if you really did break your ankle, you wouldn't be so calm about it.' I thought as Butters walked closer to him. "M-Maybe I should take a look at it." Butters said as he glanced at me: silently asking for permission as he knelt at my feet. "Go for it Butters." I said, frowning as I spotted a medium-sized crack in my sword. "Yes ma'am." he said before crouching next to Craig and patted him on the back. "Thank you, noble paladin, my wound has been healed." Craig said as he led the way up the basement steps. "C-Can you get us upstairs? I think they locked us out." Butters said as I glanced outside to find that the sun was going down. 'Better wrap this up soon; I still have dinner to eat before I sneak out to meet Mysterion.' I thought as Craig began picking the lock on the door.

"Nothing a level twelve Thief can't handle, you guys go on ahead." he replied as the sound of a clicking lock could be heard, allowing us to enter the living room upstairs. "Thanks Craig." I said as Butters and I quickly stormed through the door, concerned about what was being done to our friends that had been taken hostage by the rouge Drow Elves Eric had warned about.


	24. Chapter 24

When we got back to the living room, I was surprised to see that the elves had turned it into a barricaded warzone: complete with spiked traps made from wooden planks and nails. "You're not getting past us fucker." one of the elves on the other side of the barricade growled, making me narrow my eyes at him before noises from the kitchen caught my attention. "Oh no you didn't!" the voice of Eric sounded from inside the kitchen. "T-That sounds like the Grand Wizard." Butters said as we made our way closer to the source of the commotion.

"MotherFUCKER." he said, making a small smirk appear on my face as I leaned against the wall to peek around the corner. What I saw was just so amusing that I had to stop and stare for a minute: Eric was flat on his back on the floor while two elves kicked him while he was down, while the third was texting on his phone. Suddenly wincing as one of the elves hit Eric harshly with a garden hoe, I snuck up behind them and effortlessly picked them up off the floor by the backs of their costumes.

"What the fuck?!" they yelped as they struggled to get free, making me smirk as I carried them out of the kitchen and threw them in the basement, locking the door shut afterwards. "Now then, still up for a fight?" I asked the remaining elf as he fearfully looked at Butters and I from his position in the corner. "N-No thanks." he stuttered before dashing past us and out the door. Turning my gaze to Eric, I couldn't help but laugh at him as he lifted his hand and flipped me the bird.

Kneeling next to me, Butters pulled on my sleeve to get my attention. "Your word is my command my Lady. Shall I heal the king my Lady, or maybe let him suffer just a little bit more?" Butters said, making my face split into a Cheshire grin. "Hmm…I don't know Butters, letting him suffer sounds very tempting." I said, making Eric lift his head up and glare at me. "EY! Fuck you MacManus!" he spat, making me laugh before giving the word for Butters to heal him. "His powers were too strong-The Bard- he's up in one of the rooms." Eric said in a false dying voice as he poured a ketchup packet in his mouth before 'coughing up blood'.

"They took Princess Kenny! They took her upstairs, I'm sure they're going to rape her. Don't let them rape Princess Kenny….mehhh." he said as he 'died' making me snicker from my place across the room. "Y-You're not supposed to laugh Saphira." Butters said as we exited the kitchen to face the three elves on the other side of the barricade. "I'm sorry, it's just he REALLY needs to work on his acting…because he sucks at it." I said as we stopped next to the spike trap. "I heard that you bitch!" Eric shouted, making me laugh again. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I called back, making Butters laugh at the Wizard King's griping. 'Hmm, now how to get past this…' I thought as I took in the trap on the floor, as well as the objects surrounding it. 'Fuck it.' I thought as I raised my foot and stomped down on the wood: destroying the pathetic trap easily.

Leading Butters forward, I stopped where I stood as I heard Tweek desperately try to get our attention from outside. "Step back Butters." I said as the timid paladin did as I requested just as I picked up a lit kerosene lamp and threw it at the door. Making contact, the lamp shattered and exploded, allowing both Tweek and Token to enter the house: I did feel bad for breaking the family's things though. "For the KKK!" Token yelled as he and Tweek began hitting a cracked dresser that stood between them and the elves. 'Uh Token, are you sure you should be saying that?' I wondered with a shake of my head before running over and giving the broken dresser a good punch, breaking it into pieces on the floor.

"OH JESUS!" Tweek screamed as Butters and I ran past him and into the three elves that had covered The Bard's escape. "Protect The Bard!" an elf wearing a gas mask and chains on his armor ordered as they charged us with their weapons raised. "I hope we don't get in trouble for this." Butters said as he drew his hammer while I brandished my sword as the elf in the gas mask looked like he was trying to focus his 'power'. Charging forward, I feigned to the right of an elf in green armor: only to spin around at the last second and hit him from the left.

Following my lead, Butters charged the same elf I had just attacked in order to finish him off quickly. "Feel my righteous fury." he said before raising his hammer above his head and slammed it down on the floor, causing the elf with the gas mask and the one in green to act like they had been electrocuted. When the one in green fainted, the elf in brown robes tossed flowers into the air and threw a rock at me. Catching the offending stone, I made a fist around it and crushed it into dust, intimidating the one who threw it.

I had been so focused on the Elf Priest that I had forgotten about the one in the gas mask. "This elf is gonna fuck you up, dude." he said as he charged me and began slashing with his jagged sword, punching and kicking with impressive combos. Once he finished his attack, I drew my hand across my face to find that the little prick gave me a nosebleed. "Ow." I hissed before glaring at both elves in front of me. "Aww is the baby gonna cry?" the Elf Priest mocked, causing me to focus my glare on him before my face split into an evil sneer. "Ha! You fucking wish." I mocked as I ran forward before lightly punching the floor: causing the wooden floor to crack and split under their feet, taking down the priest and leaving the one in the mask unable to move. "He's all yours Butters." I said as I turned around and walked back to my spot.

"O-Oh a-alright then." he replied as he ran forward and slammed his hammer down on the trapped elf, rendering him defeated. "Holy shit, nice one!" Token said as he, Tweek and Craig approached us from the front door. "Thank you." I said as I opened a bottle of water and took a sip. "Where's the Grand Wizard?" he asked as Tweek began spazzing and muttering about how much trouble we were in. "He's over there, in the kitchen: he's hurt bad." Craig said as they began making their way through the mess and over to the kitchen. "Good thing my medicine skills are plus four." Token said as he and Tweek entered the kitchen.

"We'll revive the wizard, you guys get upstairs." Craig said as he followed his friends. Wiping the blood from my nose, I nodded at Butters before walking up the stairs to the second floor, where several doors stood closed. "Help! Someone save me!" Kenny cried in a girly voice from behind the second door to the right. "We gotta get to the princess!" Butters said as I opened the second door, finding Kenny sitting on the bed and tied up while an elf with a sword jumped up and down on the bed. Raising an eyebrow, I smirked as Kenny shrugged his shoulders before nodding upwards at a ceiling light that had been tied to the bedpost. Following the cord, I saw it was slanting downwards from its source against the wall. "Tell me you're joking…" I said, sighing as he shook his head while the elf looked at me in confusion. Drawing my sword, I hit one of the legs of a nearby table causing it to break and allow me to climb up.

From there I used a wall decoration like a ladder to reach a set of shelves: how they didn't break under my weight, I had no clue. Narrowing my eyes at the elf, I grabbed hold of the cord and used it as a zip-line to kick the elf, break the bed, and rescue the princess. "Good thing Jimmy's parents are out of town." Butters said as I untied the knot that held the rope in place around my friend. "Thank you for saving me my Lady." Kenny said as he hopped down from the broken bed. "Princess Kenny, how badly did they rape you?" Eric asked as we got out of the destroyed room.

"They didn't rape me." Kenny replied as we made our way over to the first door, where Craig was attempting to pick the lock. "I can't get through! The door appears to be enchanted so I can't turn the knob." Craig said as Eric glared angrily at the door. "Let me try." I said as he stepped back and let me have a go at getting the door open. Gripping the doorknob, I threw my shoulder into the door, making it budge a little but not much. Each time I hit the door a little harder than the last, until I hit the door wrong and bruised my shoulder. "Fucking hell." I hissed as I stepped back and cradled my injured limb. Fed up with the obstacle, Eric stormed over to the door and tried to turn the knob, only to hit the door with his stick in anger.

"YOU CAN'T HOLD THE DOORKNOB, BARD! THAT'S CHEATING!" Eric yelled, causing a laugh to come from the other side of the door. "Yeah I can! I have The Stick of Truth: which means I control the universe, and I say holding the doorknob is okay." The Bard said as Eric turned to us dumbfounded and pissed off: not like that's anything new. "Ungh! Can he do that?" he questioned as Kenny and I looked at each other. "He has The Stick of Truth, he can do what he wants." Craig said, causing Eric to growl in restrained rage. "God fucking damnit! There's GOT to be another way into this room!" he seethed as he tried to turn the knob again and get the same result as last time. Just as I was about to suggest a plan on how to get inside, I noticed that the streetlights outside had just lit up as the sun went down.

"Oh shit! LATER!" I yelled, jumping down the stairs and dashed out the door, listening to the panic of the other kids as they realized the reason why I had bailed on them the way I did. Running as fast as a fourth grader could run, I quickly made my way towards home for dinner, and to prepare for my meeting with Mysterion, question is…how will he react to the fact that homeless people were brewing drugs in my friend's garage?


	25. Chapter 25

As soon as I had finished dinner, I turned on the Xbox and snake heat lamps for Alex before climbing up on the roof of the house. Taking in the cold wind and endless stars, I straightened my spine and allowed my body suit to show itself once again. Looking at the snow-covered roof, I frowned as I saw that my suit was making the snow glow an ominous red, making it look like freshly-spilled blood. Shaking my head, I rid myself of unpleasant thoughts and focused my attention on finding Mysterion.

'If I was South Park's superhero, where would I be?' I wondered before I closed my eyes and opened them again to find the world around me turned yellow-orange in color. Smirking, I sent out a slight pulse through the air, which turned into a smile as the pulse returned back to me in the direction of where he was. 'Sometimes I love my Sonar.' I thought as I jumped from the roof and used the virus' biomass to begin gliding from building to building in the direction I needed to go. Using my bat-like Sonar again, I discovered that Mysterion was located on the roof of the Community Center: just where I had thought he was.

Returning my vision back to normal, I landed on the sidewalk before running up the side of the building and perched silently on an AC unit in a similar fashion as the vigilante had. In the growing darkness, I saw him kneeling on the edge of the building in the same badass Batman pose he had been in before: the wind harmlessly playing with his cape to complete the look. Perching in a similar fashion as him, I observed how he was watching the town like a hawk: ready for anything bad to happen. "Thought I'd find you up here." I said as his body flinched before he turned around to glare at me.

"Don't. Do. That." he warned as he stood up and jumped up on a different AC unit. "Sorry for scaring you, but I had to find you: one of my new friends is in big trouble." I said, catching his attention as his icy gaze bored holes in me. "What sort of trouble?" he questioned, never taking his gaze away from me: just in case I was lying to him. "Do you know somebody named Tweek?" I asked as he hesitated for a minute before nodding. "His father is drugging him." I said, watching as his face became even more serious than it already was before jumping down from his spot and stormed over to me.

"That is a pretty big accusation, do you have any proof of this?" he interrogated, narrowing his eyes as I nodded. "The homeless people in my friend Kenny's garage were cooking with Crystal Meth and Cocaine. I watched Mr. Tweak pour a bag of the stuff in with the coffee ingredients." I said as he growled at my information. "I will take care of this, thank you for the information." he said as he turned around to leave, only to have me walk up next to him. "What are you doing?" he asked as he jumped down on a fire escape while I crouched on the roof of the building, pulling my hood up as I did so.

"What does it look like, Mysterion? I'm coming with you." I said as I jumped off the building and landed on my feet on the sidewalk, skipping the fire escape altogether to the vigilante's shock. "No, you're not. It's too dangerous and I work alone." he dismissed as he got down off the fire escape after making sure I was fine after jumping off the tall building. "Have you forgotten the fact that you and I are practically the same? This is a walk in the park for me, besides: do you even know WHERE the drugs are stashed?" I said with a deadpanned look on my face, internally smirking as he gave an irritated sigh. "Fine, but if you get in the way or get in trouble: you're going home and never joining me again." he warned before walking in the direction of Kenny's house, leaving me to follow at my own risk.

"I can live with that." I said as I followed after him, letting him lead the way while I glanced around to make sure we weren't being followed. "Why does your costume do that?" he asked suddenly, startling me out of my concentration. "Do what?" I asked after a few seconds, watching my body suit glow dimly: lighting up the snow at our feet. "That. Why does it glow like that?" he asked again, cocking his head slightly to the side as I sighed, his question mark twitching with his motion. "This isn't a costume Mysterion: this is what the virus looks like when I'm not using it to turn my arms into weapons or shapeshift. I wear my other clothes over this to cover it up, people already hate me enough as it is: I don't want to be seen as a monster because of how the virus makes me look." I explained as he took in the body suit's design and glowing tendencies.

"If you don't like it, why don't you take it off?" he questioned as we crossed into the run-down part of town. "I can't take the suit off: it's kinda like a second skin: I can shower and still be clean, but they will never come off. I guess you could say this body suit is my permanent reminder of what they've done to me." I said sadly, ducking inside Kenny's garage before Mysterion could even say anything. Standing by the door, I held my gloved hand over my nose to help protect it against the poisonous smells coming from inside the laboratory as Mysterion glanced warily at me before opening the door and walking inside. Watching him recoil at the smell, he lifted his cape around his face as he took in the equipment and ingredients scattered around the filthy room.

"Shit. I had been hoping you were lying…what a mess." he said almost sadly as he looked around the room before landing his gaze on the three unconscious Meth Heads I had defeated earlier today. "You okay Mysterion?" I asked, not used to seeing him vulnerable the way he was at the moment. "It's nothing. Looks like the drugs finally got to them." he said, changing the subject as I helped him tie the Meth Heads up with some rope we found in a corner. I didn't dare tell him that I had been the one to put them in this state, mainly because I didn't want him to think I had a hand in Tweek getting drugged. After taking pictures to use as evidence, we began looking around for the drugs in question…only to find nothing.

"Looks like they moved their stash." Mysterion said as we both came up empty-handed after almost an hour of searching. "Looks like it, where could they have moved it to though?" I asked as I glanced at the filthy adults, trying to think of where they could've put the drugs. "That is the police's job now, we have enough evidence to have them locked up for a long time, let's go." he said as we walked out of the room and ducked under the rusted door of the garage, only to have me halt suddenly where I stood, drawing the vigilante's attention. "What?" he questioned as I tilted my head up and sniffed a passing breeze: probably making me look like a cat or something to him, but I really didn't care at the moment. "This way." I said before running in the opposite direction of where we were going, making sure Mysterion was following me as I led him down several side-streets before coming to a stop next to Stark's Pond.

Giving Mysterion a few minutes to catch his breath, I pointed to a box sitting in the middle of the frozen pond. "I think I found the missing drugs." I said as Mysterion followed my finger and scowled darkly at the cardboard box sitting on the ice. "I won't ask how you did, but we should get them and bring them to the police." he said, making me freeze in fear as I paled. "W-What did you say?" I stuttered, making him glance at me. "Go get the box so we can take it to the police." he repeated, making me stumble back away from the frozen pond.

"Mysterion no! I-I can't." I said fearfully as he turned to me with narrowed eyes. "Yes you can, the pond has been frozen since the beginning of Winter." he said, looking at me in confusion as I grabbed hold of a streetlight and held on for dear life. "N-No! You don't understand! I CAN'T swim: if I fall through that ice I'll sink like a rock, it's part of what the virus did to me!" I protested as he frowned at my answer before nodding once. "Fine, then wait there and I'll get it." he said as he carefully walked across the pond and picked up the box before walking back with it. "Y-You won't tell anybody about that…will you?" I asked as he led the way to the police station.

"If you won't say anything about me not being able to die, not that you'll remember if I do or not anyway." he said, muttering the last part to himself before becoming silent, making a small grin appear on my face. 'Thank you, Mysterion.' I thought happily as we came to a stop at our destination: beyond happy that justice will finally be served for poor Tweek. Climbing up the fire escape outside the building, I watched as Mysterion climbed through an open window, where an authoritive man with bright-orange hair and several cops were drinking coffee.

"Ah Mysterion! Thank God you came, what news do you bring?" the orange-haired man asked as the vigilante crouched on the floor of the offices. "There is a conspiracy going on Commissioner, I have evidence of a drug laboratory selling Crystal Meth and Cocaine to nearby coffee shops. The ones behind this stash have been tied and are waiting for you in the McCormick's garage, along with all of their supplies." Mysterion explained, causing a round of applause to erupt from the officers. "Well done Mysterion, we'll get to work on arresting the people behind it right away." the Commissioner replied as he took the box from the vigilante.

"I didn't even know about this, let alone would have been able to find this stash if I didn't have help." Mysterion said, making me flinch in surprise that he would include me: I mean sure it was true, but I thought he worked alone and wanted to keep that image. "Hmm…do you know who it was that helped you, or was it an anonymous tip?" an officer questioned as I watched Mysterion lean out the window and watch me from his shadowed hood. "Are you coming up or staying there?" he asked, making me realize he wanted me to join him up there. Nodding at him, I climbed onto the windowsill and perched like I've seen him do, making sure my hood was up and covered my eyes as I did.

From the shadows of my hood, I watched as all the officers' faces became surprised and slightly fearful as they took in my glowing body suit. "Whoa! W-Who is that?!" one of the officers questioned while dropping his coffee cup on the floor, spilling the beverage messily. "Look at how that costume glows!" exclaimed another as the orange-haired Commissioner waved his hand to shut them up. "Mysterion…I didn't know you had a partner." he said as I fought back a blush at the way he said it: as if he were implying Mysterion and I were something else entirely.

"She isn't my partner." he answered, making me frown sadly as I realized he didn't trust me enough to consider me an ally. "But she may as well be." he continued, making my head jerk up so fast I was sure I had given myself whiplash. As his words sunk in, I was internally dancing like a fool: he accepted me! Mysterion accepted me! I'm his partner, ME! He knew who and what I was, and he accepted it instead of turning his back on me or treating me like a monster.

"I see. Thank you for helping Mysterion uncover this drug cartel. The South Park Police Force will never forget this, before you go: what's your name?" the Commissioner asked as I moved aside and let Mysterion out the window. "You can call me….Blacklight." I said in a lower tone of voice before letting go of the window, ready to join Mysterion in protecting the town, in more ways than one.


	26. Chapter 26

Landing on the pavement, I watched as Mysterion walked over to a crosswalk that led to the playground. Before he could even get there, I ran up behind him and engulfed him in an almost suffocating hug, startling the vigilante into almost tripping over himself. "Thank you." I whispered to him before letting him go, taking pride in how his face darkened a few shades. "I-It's getting late, I'm going to do a quick sweep of the town before heading home." he said with a cough, making me smirk at him as he tried to hide his slightly-red face.

"Do you need any help?" I offered, nodding in understanding as he shook his head. "Alright, I guess I'll see you when I see you Mysterion." I said, only to find that he had disappeared: with only a pair of footprints proving that he had been there at all. "Goodnight." I said to the wind as I turned around and took off in a full-blown sprint for home: only appearing as a black and red glowing blur as I bounced like a pinball off buildings and swung off telephone poles. Slowing down as my street came into view, I silently climbed up the tree in my backyard and slipped inside the room I shared with my brother.

Making sure he was asleep, I closed the window and checked the time to find it was three in the morning as I crawled into bed. 'Thank you Mysterion, for everything.' I thought before I fell asleep, only to wake up to the sound of the alarm clock what felt like only five minutes later. Sitting up, I viciously rubbed my eyes with a tired groan before getting to work on taming my out-of-control burgundy mop of hair. 'Seriously, how the hell does he stay up all night protecting the town before going to school the next day?!' I thought as I changed my body suit back into my trademark hoodie before heading downstairs to join Alex for breakfast.

"Morning Saphy, thanks for bringing my homework home." Alex said as I sat at the table and poured myself some cereal. "No problem, hey mom: can I ask you something?" I asked her as dad grabbed himself a cup of coffee, kissed my mom and ruffled my brother's hair before walking out the front door and off to work. "Sure sweetie." she replied as I finished my breakfast and put my bowl in the sink to wash. "There's this friend of mine at school, his name's Kenny." I started, watching as her face became one of secret knowing.

"Oh? Is he your little boyfriend Saphira?" she teased as I shook my head at her. "I was wondering if you could pack him a lunch too, his family is poor and he doesn't get to eat much." I explained as she frowned and stopped cleaning the dishes. "Oh dear, that poor boy: of course I can make him a lunch for however long he needs one." she said as she got to work on Kenny's lunch, basically filling up our spare lunchbox with a four course meal: so whatever he couldn't eat, he could take home. "Here you go, and be sure to tell him if he ever needs something to eat: don't be afraid to ask." she said as Alex and I grabbed our bags and headed out the door, after I hid Kenny's lunch safely in my backpack first.

Upon arriving at the bus stop, I saw Eric bouncing excitedly on his feet and chatting loudly with (more like talking the ears off) the rest of the boys. "What's going on?" I asked Stan as I took my place between him and Kenny. "Apparently Cartman saw something cool last night." he said as I looked over at the fat kid in question. "It was FUCKING awesome! They just started jumping from building to building like some hardcore free-runner! And then they jumped from the roof, hit the ground and took off running like it was nothing! When I first saw them standing on the roof I was like 'Holy Shit! It's an Assassin from Assassin's Creed!' with the way the costume looked, I don't know how the fuck they made it glow like that: but that had to be the most badass thing I've ever seen!" he ranted excitedly as Alex and I shared a look.

"You sure you weren't dreaming, Cartman?" Kyle questioned skeptically as the bus pulled up. "I'm serious you guys! I SAW an Assassin!" he yelled as Kenny shrugged before he, Stan, and Kyle climbed on the bus. "You need to be fucking careful! If word of this gets out-" Alex hissed in my ear before I elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a look that said 'later' before allowing him to get on the bus. "MacManus, you believe me, right?" Eric questioned as he twisted his hat in his gloved hands, making me raise my eyebrow at him. 'Okay, who are you and what have you done with Eric Cartman?' I thought as I smirked mysteriously at him.

"I guess we'll find out." I said as we got on the bus and took our seats and waited for the bus to take us to school. The day was passing pretty much like the rest of them: got to school, said hi to Clyde and Butters, put my things in my locker, sat with Kenny and the boys as everyone else was too afraid to come near me, and listened to Mr. Garrison rant about things that had absolutely nothing to do with math. However, everything changed when we were told to head to the back of the gym, where a large portable swimming pool sat.

"Welcome to gym class: today we will be practicing our diving and strokes." the coach said as everyone but me changed into swimming suits and lined up behind the diving board. "MacManus! Get your ass in line, you're holding up the class!" the coach yelled, snapping me out of my frozen state as I was literally shoved in line by the angry adult. 'No, no please! Anything but this, please god no!' I prayed as I stared at the deep, clear water and trembled in fear as one-by-one the students jumped in the pool. "Hey Saphira, you okay?" Kyle asked from next to me as the second student in front of me took her turn. "No…" I whimpered with tears in my eyes as the kid in front of me jumped in, leaving me next in line.

"What's the matter? You look a little green." Kenny asked concerned as I once again froze up as the coach called my name. "Let's GO MacManus, we don't have all day!" the coach snapped as a couple kids came up behind me and shoved me onto the diving board, causing me to yelp and hyperventilate in fear of the deep water below me. "Dude, I don't think she can swim." Stan said, shocking the faces of both Kyle and Kenny as an obnoxious laugh mocked from somewhere behind me. "Of course she can swim! She's from Florida, not Arizona! But…I think it's true: monsters can't swim…which is why the skank is going to learn now." the bitch in purple stated before she and Bebe came storming up behind me and started stomping on the diving board, trying to get me to fall in.

"WENDY! What the hell are you doing?!" Stan exclaimed at her as they continued stomping while laughing their asses off as I staggered and tipped over: holding onto the underside of the board for dear life, catching the immediate attention of everyone in the room. "Oh nothing Stan: just putting the bitch in her place for trying to move in on you." she said in a sickly-sweet voice from above as I struggled to hold onto the thrashing board. "She wasn't moving in on me! She's our friend and if you don't stop treating her this way, then you and I are DONE." he threatened as Kyle tried to hold the board still long enough for me to climb up.

"But Stan…" she whined before glaring savagely at me and jumped on the diving board with both feet, making me finally lose my grip and slip off the end with a terrified shriek. Hitting the water with a sickening slap, I furiously thrashed and kicked, trying to keep myself afloat as the virus hardened and gained weight: dragging me down to the bottom of the pool. "Saphira! Here!" Kenny shouted in a muffled voice as he tossed me a boogie board, causing me to kick off the bottom of the pool and grab the piece of Styrofoam with all my strength.

Once I had my grip, I quickly climbed onto it and used it to jump over the side of the pool and hit the floor of the gym running, but slowly enough to hear Eric to call the ink-haired she-devil a 'Fucking Bitch'. Sliding across the hardwood floor, I burst through the double doors sobbing hysterically as I made a mad dash through the hallways for Mr. Mackey's office: I don't know why I chose to go there of all places, and I didn't have the right state of mind to question why at the moment either, all I knew at that moment was: Wendy Testaburger has crossed the line, and it was time for some stone-cold vengeance.


	27. Chapter 27

Instead of going to the councilor's office like I had wanted to, I found it much better to hide inside my locker. Squeezing my soaked form inside the tiny compartment, I closed the door and curled as close to the wall as possible as I fought to calm myself down. However, a sudden noise caused me to nearly jump out of my skin as I banged my head against the shelf where I placed my books. As I rubbed the forming goose-egg, I noticed that a folded piece of paper had landed in my lap from the shelf.

'Great, as if that cunt couldn't harass me enough today.' I seethed as I opened the note: only to find it wasn't from Wendy at all, and that relieved my already shot-to-shit nerves. 'I have plotted long and hard, and I found the best possible karma to use. Here is a list of torment methods: use them well and enjoy the show.' I read as I noticed there was a 'PC' initial at the end of the sentence, making my curiosity as well as my thirst for revenge grow. 'Let's see what you came up with, shall we?' I thought as I read the list, my eyes glinting evilly as well as a shit-eating grin splitting across my face as I soon found that each tactic was worse than the last.

'Your timing couldn't be more perfect Chaos, and I know JUST who to go to for some of these.' I thought as I climbed out of my locker and shook myself dry like a dog: it didn't get all of it, but at least I wasn't leaving puddles wherever I went anymore. Walking down the hallway, a devilish toothy grin made its way across my face as I spotted the boys drying themselves off near the front of the gym. "Saphira! Holy shit dude, are you okay?!" Stan shouted as I approached, drawing the attention of the others to me as I nodded before turning my gaze to Eric.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." I said seriously to him, making Kyle raise an eyebrow as Eric rolled his eyes and eventually followed me to a different part of the gym: out of earshot of the other three. "What do you want MacManus, you're holding up my schedule." he snapped, making me scoff before narrowing my eyes at him. "I hear you can be an evil little bastard when you want to be." I said as he glared at me while he put his red jacket back on.

"Yes well, I don't regret a damn thing and if you're gonna be a little goody-two-shoes about it, then you can just fuck off." he said as I pulled out the list of things I needed him to help me get. "Actually, I need your help: and it just so happens to be in your area of expertise." I said, handing him the list, smirking as his brow furrowed in confusion. "The fuck do you want with these-you know what: I don't want to know, that's more Kenny's thing." he said in disgust as he turned to walk away. "I'm going to use them against Wendy." I called in a sing-song voice, making him halt mid-step and glance back at me. "It's time that bitch paid, I was hoping you could help me." I continued as he turned around to face me with an unsure look on his face as he glanced at the list again.

"You're going to do this during class?" he questioned as he settled his gaze on me. "I wouldn't have it any other way: I want to watch her squirm, I want her to suffer, I want her to BEG my forgiveness, I want to break her!" I snarled as his eyes lit up with glee as the gears in his head began turning. "Now that…is something I can do. I like you MacManus, consider it done: I'll have what you need when school's over." he said as we shared a Grinch-like sneer as the unsuspecting victim strutted past us like a peacock. "Do be sure to record it on film, because I'm going to post the SHIT out of it all over Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. And also, one more thing: see if you can find out what her worst fear is, I want to hear her scream like the bitch she is." I said as we shook hands before parting ways, letting him finish doing what he was doing while I retrieved my stuff from the girl's locker room.

Picking up my backpack, I walked back over to the boys and sat on the bench, waiting for the bell to signal the end of this class and start lunch. Staring into space, I felt my body suit twitch as I felt something being draped over my shoulders: only to look down and find a fluffy white towel. "Here, you don't want to get sick just sitting there." Kyle said awkwardly as I used his towel to finish drying myself off. "Thanks Kyle, I appreciate it." I said as he frowned in sympathy as I wordlessly stood up and walked out the door without another word as the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch.

Upon entering the almost-quiet cafeteria, I spotted Craig, Token and Tweek sitting at one of the long tables. Getting closer as Token beckoned me over, I nodded a greeting to Craig as he flipped me off: his way of saying 'hello' while Tweek twitched violently before settling down again. "Hey Saphira." Token greeted as he offered me a spot at their table. "Hey guys." I said as I pulled my lunchbox out of my backpack and sat on the empty bench across from them. "What happened to you?" Craig questioned as he looked over my still-damp form, causing Token and Tweek to take notice as well.

"Let's just say Wendy wants me dead." I said as Tweek began frantically pulling his hair, only to stop when Craig handed him a thermal cup filled with coffee. "You mean she tried to kill you?!" Token asked in shock as I nodded before taking a bite out of my grilled-cheese sandwich. "WHAT DID SHE DO?!" Tweek yelled, drawing the attention of Eric, Stan, Kyle and Kenny as they entered the cafeteria. "She made me fall in the pool during gym class." I answered as Craig rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "So?" he said as everyone but Kenny stepped into the lunch-line.

"I can't swim." I replied as I saw Kenny sit next to me and pull out half of a poptart from his pocket and started munching on it as slowly as he could. "Oh." Craig said as the three boys shared a look only they understood while I nudged Kenny with my elbow to get his attention. "Hm?" he asked after he finished his bite: I have no idea how he managed to eat anything through that parka hood of his, but I wasn't going to ask. "I've got something for you." I said, rolling my eyes with a grin as the visible part of his face became suggestive.

"Close your eyes and don't peek." I told him, holding my glove over his face to be sure he wasn't cheating while I slipped his lunchbox out of my backpack and silently set it down in front of him. "Can I look now?" he asked as I motioned for the rest of the guys to be quiet before removing my hand from his eyes. "You can look now." I said as he opened his eyes before looking at me in dumb-struck confusion. "But…this is for-" he started, only to stop mid-sentence as he didn't know what to say as he opened the lunchbox and took in the meal my mom made for him.

"I take care of my friends Kenny, consider it thanks for saving me from a rather humiliating death." I said as the rest of the guys' mouths practically dropped to the floor at the sight of Kenny's lunch. Glaring at Eric and slapping his wrist as he made to snatch some of Kenny's food, I turned my attention back to my own lunch so I wouldn't seem rude, cueing the others to do the same. "H-Hey Saphira…about Wendy, I'm-" Stan started, not making eye contact with me out of shame, poor kid. "Don't worry about it Stan, you had nothing to do with it: however, as I said before…if she starts something, I won't be responsible for what happens. Just a fair warning to you." I said, glaring at the bitch in question as she and her pack of whores pranced about the cafeteria like they owned it.

As the guys continued with their lunch, I almost choked on my water as I felt Kenny nudge my knee under the table. Glancing at him, I watched him take my hand under the table and grip it tight in his shaking grip: giving his thanks without the rest of the boys seeing him. Smiling at him, I finished my lunch and told the guys I'll be in the playground if they wanted to hang out after they were done eating. Stepping out into the snow, I spotted Alex and a group of second graders pushing as much snow as they could into the middle of the playground.

"What're you doing little brother?" I asked him as he jogged over to me with a hopeful look on the visible part of his face. "We're trying to build a snowman, I've never made one before." he replied as he tried to push a pile of slushy snow that wasn't going anywhere. "Here, let me help you." I said as I nudged him out of the way, dug my hands in the moderately-deep snow, and effortlessly started pushing it like a snowplow. Picking up the pace, I gathered almost all of the snow on the playground before herding it towards the middle before dumping it there: leaving the perfect mountain for King of the Hill.

"Wow! You're REALLY strong!" one of the smaller kids exclaimed as she jumped up and down. Smiling at the little girl, I winked at my brother before furiously tapping, scraping, carving, and molding the large pile of snow into a snowman unlike anything the little kids had ever seen before. If it weren't for the fact it was made of snow, it could pass for a living thing: and it wasn't until I had finished, that I'd realized I had made a snowman-version of Mysterion. Being around him for as long as I had, I was able to memorize exactly how his face and eyes looked, how his stance was, and the matured and serious aura he gave off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little kids' eyes fill with innocent wonder before I started walking a few feet away from my creation and got to work on building his adversary. Smirking to myself, I almost sneezed as bits of slush landed on my face from my rapid carving, thankfully I didn't as I put the finishing touches on my second snowman: a legitimately evil-looking and insane Professor Chaos. I had created Mysterion in a fighting stance with his cape billowing in imaginary wind as he prepared to defend the playground from the mighty and intelligent enemy, while I made Professor Chaos' stance laid-back with his arms crossed and laughing like a maniac as his cloak dragged the ground around his feet.

Rubbing my chin, I noticed that the scene seemed to be missing something: or someone to be more accurate. Snapping my fingers in realization, I motioned for Alex and his little friends to wait while I ran around the playground and gathered more snow to bring back to the middle. 'Let's see how Eric reacts to seeing his 'Assassin'.' I thought as I quickly got to work on sculpting myself in my body suit: I made sure to keep the beaked hood up in order to hide the mysterious newcomer's identity from everyone but Alex, as he already knew it was supposed to be me. Instead of positioning 'snow me' like Mysterion, I made the body lean forward like a stalking predator as its lower face split into an angry snarl while the arms were transformed into the biomass claws: extended and ready to rip the enemy apart in perfect detail as the same imaginary wind played with the shredded wings and fabric tails attached to the belt.

Looking at the finished battle scene, I swelled up with pride at how the sculptures were mirror images of our true selves, and I would have thought I was looking at the vigilantes and villain themselves if it weren't for the fact that they were pure white and unmoving. Bowing at the applause and cheers from the little kids and teachers alike, I looked at Alex who frowned at 'snow me' before approving of my work, leaving me to patiently wait for the guys to show up: and hopefully get some interesting reactions from them at the same time.


	28. Chapter 28

Brushing off the excess snow, I pulled out several cans of spray paint and immediately got to work on painting the lifelike figures: making them look even more alive than they already were. Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I quickly and accurately painted, shaded and added as much depth as humanly possible into each of my creations, even going so far as to add gloss to their eyes so they shined in the sunlight. Mysterion and Professor Chaos were easy, myself however: was an incredible pain in the ass because of the amount of detail in the biomass claws as well as the glowing of the body suit.

The black-cherry and red of the biomass blended and changed depending on the viewer's perspective, also including the fact that the talons themselves weren't only massive, but were made of the strongest metal. (I dare anyone who lives in a snowy place to attempt this) Once the most difficult parts were out of the way, I used the last of the gloss to shine around the lips and the talons: completing the extremely difficult but entertaining project. Backing up, I pulled out my phone and captured a picture of the finished battle scene to add to my collection of sculptures I had done.

Putting the empty cans back in my backpack, I turned around just in time to watch the double doors open as all conversation ceased between the boys. Swelling with pride, I took in the astonished looks and frozen stances as the boys took in the scene before them. Crossing my arms over my chest, I laughed as Eric staggered backwards and pointed a shaking hand at the sculpture of me. "There! That's the Assassin I told you guys about!" he yelled, snapping the others out of their frozen daze. "Holy shit! Saphira…YOU made these?" Kyle asked as he stepped forward and took a closer look at the painted snowmen.

"I was bored." I said nonchalantly with a shrug, causing Kyle to stare at me in disbelief while Kenny stared intently at Mysterion's features. "Dude, these are amazing! I thought I was actually staring at Mysterion and Chaos! And that one standing next to Mysterion is terrifying, who the hell is that?!" Stan exclaimed, making me flinch at his words. 'If this is how they react to a snow-version…how will they react to the real thing?' I couldn't help but think as Eric got over his shock and almost-timidly approached the sculpture of me.

"So Eric, is this what you saw?" I asked smugly as he stared at the bladed claws and glowing suit with wide, nervous eyes: as if the statue would spring to life and tear him apart. "You fucking scare me MacManus: you brought the Assassin to life based on just what I told you, how the fuck did you do that, in ten fucking minutes no less?" he demanded as Kenny moved from the statue of Mysterion and over to the one of me. "I'm glad I scare the 'Mighty Grand Wizard' for creating snowmen. As for the question, you will be getting no answers from me." I teased, sticking my tongue out at him as his eye twitched.

"Ey! That's not fucking fair you fucking bitch, tell me how you made these right now god damnit!" he yelled angrily, making me adjust my beanie and raise an eyebrow at him. "Now I'm DEFFINATELY not telling you, be grateful that I took time out of MY day to actually prove to everyone that you weren't going mentally insane! If anything you should be thanking me, saying shit like 'I saw an Assassin' will get your ass arrested Cartman! So I saved you your pride and your freedom: congratulations!" I spat, fighting the urge to punch him as I picked up my stuff and stormed past him and back inside the school just as the final bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

Quietly hissing in anger, I paced outside the front of the school as I waited on the stupid bus to take me home already. Kicking the snow in frustration, I let out a very low guttural growl as my peace was interrupted by Clyde. "Whoa, what's got you so pissed off?" he asked as I clenched my fists to keep them from shaking, it didn't help my urge to punch something however. "Let's just say Cartman is a fucking dick: trying to order me around and force me to tell him how I made a snow sculpture of something he apparently saw in the span of ten minutes. Can't he be happy that I kept his fatass from getting arrested or put in a mental hospital?!" I ranted, watching the boy next to me frown through my slightly-orange-tinted vision.

"That's Cartman for you: one minute he's decent, and the next he's as evil as the devil. We actually tried to tell you this when he was apparently 'nice' to you, it's normal for him to bide his time until he finds something to use against the person unlucky enough to meet him." he said as Alex walked outside and joined me on the curb while I listened to Eric getting chewed out by Kyle. Sighing heavily in aggravation, I picked up Alex's stuff along with mine and got on the bus, ready to get home, do my homework and probably get back to playing with the guys. 'I wonder…how long will it be before the napalm falls? Knowing Gentek and Blackwatch, they should already be on their way over to this side of the country…if they aren't here already.' I thought morbidly as I waved goodbye to Kenny as we reached his stop, letting my orange-clad friend get off the bus and head home.

Leaning against the window, I listened to Alex quietly work on his homework while the rest of the bus thrummed loudly with typical chatter and paper ball fights. Ignoring Alex as he tried to find out what was wrong with me, I squeezed past him and got off the bus as soon as it reached our stop. "Saphira? Hey!" Kyle called, trying to get me to talk to them: only to have me halt when Eric roughly grabbed hold of the back of my hoodie.

Temporarily forgetting where I was, I snatched the offending wrist and flipped its owner over my shoulder: slamming the one who had grabbed me flat on his back in the snow. "OW! MacManus what the FUCK is wrong with you?! That fucking hurt you fucking bitch!" Eric screamed in rage as he rolled himself over, snapping me back to the present and finally made me realize what I had done. "Oh shit! Shit shit shit! Eric, I'm sorry!" I said quickly while trying to help him up, only to get roughly shoved backwards and away from him. "BULLSHIT! You probably just WAITED for that! You were just buying your time until the perfect moment, is that it?!" he yelled in my face, making me pale as blank as the snow and back away as I tried to ignore the wide-eyed petrified faces of my friends and brother.

"N-No! That's not it! You scared me, it was an ACCIDENT!" I pleaded as he glared viciously at me, not buying my excuses at all. "It may have been an 'accident' now, but how long before you get the urge to do it again?! You fucking picked me up like it was nothing to you: that's not normal! And those 'tricks' you can do just proves it MacManus! YOU'RE A FUCKING MONSTER!" he screamed, making everything around me stop as I stared at him with a bewildered shell-shocked expression, only to have it melt away into a look of indifference. "I see. So that's how you see me, after all this time? Why should I be surprised at that when the same shit has been going on since I was fucking five years old? And you-" I paused to look at Stan and Kyle.

"You feel the same don't you: New Kid comes to South Park and can do shit no other kid can: jump from a two story treehouse and land on her feet without getting hurt. Or how about being able to clear a backyard of snow just by punching the ground? No I'm not normal: big FUCKING deal! It isn't like I had a fucking choice so you all can either accept that for what it is, or you can join the rest of the world and fuck off. I don't give two shits if you end up betraying me: that same song and dance has played too, just don't fucking lie to me!" I seethed as my face reddened and tears streamed down my face, not that I cared as the two boys looked at each other in sympathy before trying to reason with me that they 'didn't care about that and I was still a friend to them' while Cartman looked…guilty? No, not guilty…something else that I didn't care to know as I whirled around and stormed off down the sidewalk in the direction of the woods Kenny had introduced me to on our way to Token's house.

"Nice job douchebag, you made my sister cry. Saphira! COME BACK!" Alex cried as he ran after me, only to have me snarl in anger and jump over someone's fence: easily losing my pursuing brother as I ran into the woods. By this point I wanted absolutely nobody near me as my body suit writhed and thrashed under my hoodie as it responded to my rage and left me with only one choice: because if anyone approached me now, it would end in a very painful, slow, and bloody mess that I had no interest in being responsible for.


	29. Chapter 29

Weaving and slipping my way through the thick brush and trees, my vision became darker and darker until it was a very vivid orange, changing the color of the world humans take for granted. Tromping angrily through the snow and plants, I didn't stop until I came across the base of one of the mountains on the outskirts of town. 'As good a place as any I suppose.' I thought as I sniffed the air: confirming I hadn't been followed and that I was completely alone as my hoodie, beanie and pants melted away and became the body suit that caused me so many problems.

Focusing my now-orange eyes at the thick stone, I imagined seeing the Gentek facility being guarded by thousands of Blackwatch soldiers: weapons raised and ready to fire. Combining that image with what they've done to me…what they turned me into, was the final push I needed to release all the pent-up rage that came with their 'testing'. Pulling my lips back away from my teeth, I let the virus do my bidding as long, whip-like tendrils in the same shape and design as Xenomorph tails, rose from the back of my suit and moved around me like the tentacles of an octopus.

Watching the tremor ripple through my arms, I glared at the stone wall as the biomass claws took the place of my arms. "This is for all you've done you bastards." I growled before I unleashed the power of the Blacklight virus. Dashing forward in a black and red blur, I slashed, grabbed, crushed and stabbed the stone with the deadly claws: feeling nothing but rage as the blades sliced through the thick stone like a hot knife through butter. Once a deep trench had been created, I changed my right arm into my Whipfist and used the three finger-like appendages to pick up chunks of rock and throw them across the forest.

Growling at the imaginary army, I threw my Whipfist to the side in an arch, watching it stretch and slice through the nearby trees before I raised it up and slammed it into the ground: splitting boulders as big as a car in two. Yanking the Whipfist out of the dirt, I clenched my remaining claw into a fist before slashing it diagonally down the face of the mountain: leaving deep claw marks that were each a foot deep. Feeling the biomass consume my arms again, I watched as they changed into the bulky Hulk-like hands I called Hammerfist: not a very original name, but its suiting.

Flicking my gaze at the stones at my feet, I raised my arms into the air and punched the ground repeatedly: causing the ground to split and tremble with the equivalence of an earthquake before turning my pounding hands on the stone. I didn't bat an eye as bits of chipped rock hit me in the face as huge holes appeared in the rock: making it look as if the stone had turned into Swiss cheese. Shaking off the dust, I jumped a good ten feet backwards before changing my glowing, weaponized limbs again: this time changing them into thick, solid muscle ironically called Musclemass: it didn't change the appearance of my arms much, just made me look like a bodybuilder, however: I don't favor it for its looks.

Sneering at the broken rocks that were easily the size of the school bus, I picked them up and ripped them into tiny pieces before crushing them into dust. Staring at the gray stone in my unnatural grip, I imagined them to be the heads of the people who caused me so much pain and suffering. Smiling cruelly at the image from under my hood, I continued to crush, stomp on, and break them as the dust became their blood and their pieces became their brains: the very brains that had created me. Chuckling in bloodthirsty pleasure, I changed my arms again…this time into my all-time favorite offensive power: the power absolutely nobody knew I had a pair of.

As the long, double-edged black, red, and silver Blades gleamed menacingly in the sunlight, I glared at the rock before dashing in a headlong charge, the blades on both of my arms leaning behind me like a pair of metal wings. With a loud, savage war-cry, I thrashed and sliced my target relentlessly: never tiring and never wavering as the loud screeching of nails-on-a-chalkboard became nothing more than background noise as I let out all my frustration and anger on the innocent mountain. Despite the fact that my powerful tantrum has created a tunnel deep into the mountain base, my vision wasn't blurred or crippled in the least: that is until I quite literally stumbled into a cave nearly a mile into the stone according to my Navigation Instinct.

Panting heavily, I let the virus and tendrils retreat as my arms became visible and normal again: as if none of my weapons had even existed in the first place. Looking around the circular cave, (it was more of a room really, but since when does that matter?) I saw that there was a small pond of clear water surrounded by a few pine trees and smooth flat rocks that had been illuminated by a large sunbeam streaming in through a decent-sized crack in the ceiling. 'Looks like one of the caves in Skyrim.' I mused as I glanced around before walking over to look into the pond.

It didn't appear deep, but I wasn't going to jump in and test that theory as I took in the crystal-blue of the gentle rippling, ice-cold water. Feeling the overexertion of my power finally catch up with me, I sat down on one of the larger flat rocks next to the pond and rested my arms on my drawn-up knees. 'Now what? I can't stay here forever and I royally fucked up so I can't go home: but what exactly IS home to a monster like me?' I thought as a sad sigh escaped my lips as I stared at my reflection in the water as my orange-colored eyes faded away to my original sapphire-blue.

Wishing I could be like the cheerful songbirds singing their songs from the leaves above me, I picked up several pebbles and started absentmindedly tossing them into the pond: watching as my clear refection became distorted before becoming clear again. It wasn't until I had thrown the fifth or sixth pebble, did I notice that my reflection was joined by a second: one wearing a dark-purple hood, neon-green question mark, and black mask over the face. Concealing the fact that he had startled me by tugging my hood lower over my face, I threw the remaining pebbles I had into the pond, interrupting the birds of their pretty songs.

"If you're here to console me, don't: I'm not interested in hearing it so please…leave." I said without looking at the vigilante, instead focusing my attention on the slight breeze that had managed to force its way through the crack and rustle the leaves of the trees. "I heard what had happened with Cartman, it was uncalled for: even by his standards, and for that I will be having a 'word' with him." he said, ignoring my request for him to leave as he decided to occupy the spot on the rock next to me. "Why bother? I'm nothing more than a weapon that deserves to be destroyed: I'm hardly even human anymore, so why treat me like one?" I questioned him as I watched the tribal dragons around my arms glow and fade in a steady rhythm.

"You can't help being what you are, just like I can't help being what I am. We were both forced into lives that had been decided for us with no regard for our feelings or opinions. If you see yourself as a hero: you are a hero, if it's a monster you see: then that's what you will become…don't let other people's opinions of you change who you are because YOU are the one who decides what you want to be." he said as he stared intently at me, shocking me into almost sliding off the rock, had Mysterion not grabbed hold of my wrist to steady me. "You would be the first to actually care." I said as I looked down at my dusty boots and the red-orange flames patterned around my shins.

"We're in this together now whether we like it or not, you: just like all the innocents in this town, are under my protection. If anyone tries what Wendy has ever again, they will answer to me and the police for Attempted Murder, you have nothing to be afraid of anymore." he said almost…possessively. The way he said it was different from the way the scientists had claimed me: with them, it was if I were a prisoner in chains I had no escape from. But with Mysterion: it was as if he were giving me a choice whether or not to accept his help, as if I were in a room with the door to freedom standing wide-open.

"I thank you for your attempt Mysterion, but not even you can protect me from Blackwatch. To them: there's always The Right Bullet for the Right Job…it's their motto actually. They are so high on their horse that they have to look down in order to see the President, what makes you think they will put down their weapons for a nine year old?" I said as I glanced at him, watching as his carefully-guarded expression faltered at this new information he had just been given.

"But they're military! They can't do that sort of thing, it's against the law." he said as he tried to grasp the fact that Blackwatch HAD no laws to keep them from doing what they wanted. "Mysterion, as far as the rest of the world knows: Blackwatch doesn't exist. To further explain what those sick fuckers do: they purposely infect a city of innocent people with viruses and experiments, only to either napalm the streets, or nuke the entire city once the test is complete. They DON'T care about how many lives are taken, all they care about are dollar bills and targets to shoot: be them innocent humans, or rampaging experiments that Gentek created: myself included." I explained, stunning the vigilante into silence as I stared at the brown and red cardinals singing in the tree in front of me, wishing for nothing more than this to be one big nightmare I will soon wake up from.


	30. Chapter 30

"This doesn't make the least bit of sense to me: how can these people do such things without getting caught?" Mysterion asked as he shook his head, his question mark swaying with the movement. "Same way the ones behind the Cult of Cthulhu get away with what they do." I answered, feeling a little bad when he flinched at the mention of the Cult. "I can see you are still lost and confused with all of this, and I'm sorry I couldn't explain it better. But I know a better way to help you understand, just…don't be afraid of me…please?" I said, feeling a sigh of relief escape me as he nodded after a slight hesitation.

Smiling slightly at him, I stood up from the rock, jumped down and walked a few steps away from where he was sitting. "What are you doing?" he asked as he tilted his head to the side, curious of the concentrated look on my face. Letting the virus take control, my nine year old body became cloaked in the writhing biomass: shifting and changing until I had taken the form I desired. No longer was I a nine-year-old girl with burgundy hair, I had instead become the very thing that I despised with every ounce of my being: a Blackwatch Commander.

The armor I now wore was just as spiteful as I had remembered it to be: it had the bulk and utility of S.W.A.T gear with a hood over the gasmask that covered my face. The lenses over my eyes glowed a threatening bright-blue as I looked down at Mysterion as he took in my 6'5 muscular frame, black and yellow armor, the flat metal blade attached to my left arm and radio attached to the left collar of my uniform, as well as the heavily-padded leggings and heavy boots. "Jesus Christ…" Mysterion gasped in a mixture of shock and horror: his rough, false voice slipping slightly as I shifted in my steel-toed boots and stood at attention.

"Blackwatch Commander Sean Walker, reporting in." I said, my voice deepening and becoming male: the very voice of the bastard I had consumed and taken the form of. "This is Blackwatch?!" the vigilante exclaimed in both fear and rage as I slammed my heels together and nodded curtly. "When we hunt, we kill! No one is safe! Nothing is sacred! We are Blackwatch! We are the last line of defense! We will burn our own to hold the red line: the last line to ever hold!" I recited the creed the vile faction lived and died by, watching as Mysterion's features and body became taught with anger as he looked up at me while I stared back at him through the cobalt lenses, letting him take a good, long look at the ones who slaughtered with no remorse or compassion.

Before Mysterion could even open his mouth, the radio on my shoulder glowed bright-blue as static echoed throughout the cave, startling the songbirds into taking off and flying through the crack in the ceiling. "Diamondback one-one, please be advised that bio-organic activity has been reported in grid three-eight-two. All Commanders report with your squads to Captain Cross for immediate briefing." a monotonous male voice sounded from the radio, making my heart freeze and drop to my feet as I fought to control my frantic fear. "Negative Command! Negative! The situation is a false alarm, I repeat: false alarm! Tell all units to hold position and stand down!" I ordered into the radio, praying that they bought it as Mysterion paled as he took in how terrified I was at the moment.

"Rodger that Diamondback, hold position until situation is confirmed, do not engage until authorization has been cleared." the monotonous Colonel ordered before the radio went silent, signaling that the connection had been severed. As my adult body became assaulted by fear and adrenaline, I lost my will to keep this disgusting form as the virus changed me back into my original self, leaving me to curl up in the dirt and sob uncontrollably without restraint. Trembling, I fought to keep myself from hyperventilating at how close South Park had just come to being the newest warzone and or test site.

Flinching as Mysterion's boots scraped against the loose stones, pine needles and dirt, I almost jumped out of my skin as I discovered him to be crouched directly next to my head as he looked down at me with understanding pity: as if he knew what it felt like to be in contact with the ones responsible for your living nightmare. Hiding my tear-stained face in my hood, I tensed as tightly as my body would allow as the vigilante picked me up and engulfed me in a hug. He didn't need to say anything as I quite literally vibrated in terror, the only thing he did was tighten his grip as I fought to get ahold of myself and stop acting like a scared child: even though I had every right to act this way.

If I was surprised that Mysterion was hugging me, I couldn't tell you how shocked I was when Mysterion draped his cape over me, hiding me from view while he glared at the entrance to this secret place with his icy-blue eyes: as if he were expecting a squad of those devils to storm in at any second. Once my sobs ceased and became nothing more than sniffles, Mysterion removed his cape from me and nudged me to look up at him: which I was reluctant to do considering I just soaked his suit in tears. "I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" he said in that rough and raspy voice of his, continuing when I nodded.

"You're gonna be fine, you are in a town that has seen plenty of weird shit. To us: you're normal, which means you will be safe here and they will never find you." he told me, and even though I didn't believe him because I KNEW how Gentek and Blackwatch were, it made me feel better anyway. "I see your point." I muttered, making him sigh in irritation at my emotionless tone but let it go, until he glanced at me with what I guessed to be worry. "You're burning up, c'mon: I'm taking you home before you get sick." he said as he made me stand up before dragging me towards the entrance, only to stop as I let out a small laugh. "You think this is funny? This is serious!" he growled, making me laugh a bit harder at the irony.

"Mysterion, I'm a virus: we're supposed to have high body temperatures. And getting sick is rather redundant don't you think?" I said with a smirk, making him huff as he understood that he had overreacted for no reason. "Still, you have been out here a while, which means people will start to worry." he said as he led me out of the cave and back in the direction of my house: his steps sure and determined. 'I sure hope you're right Mysterion, I don't know what I would do if those bastards came here.' I thought as he led me wordlessly out of the forest before going down side streets and back alleys until the familiar pale-red house came into view.

Looking behind me, I finally caught a glimpse of him actually leaving after he vanished so many times before. "Mysterion!" I called quietly so I didn't attract the attention of anyone else but him as he glanced over his shoulder to see what I wanted. "Thanks…for everything." I said as he nodded once before turning around and walking off: practically disappearing like a ghost in the maze of buildings and houses. 'Was that a smirk I just saw?' I thought in confusion as I turned around, glanced for cars, and ran up my driveway before walking inside the nice toasty house.

"You have a package upstairs." Alex said from his spot on the couch as he watched the new Terrance and Phillip episode that was on. Nodding at him, I took off my snow-covered boots before placing them and my soaked socks next to the lit fireplace, rolling my eyes at the ridiculous fart jokes emanating from the T.V. before heading upstairs. 'I'm glad he didn't ask where I went. How would I tell him that I basically beat the shit out of a mountain before losing my shit because Blackwatch was talking to me?' I questioned myself as I dropped my backpack next to my bed, taking notice of the large paper bag sitting on the blankets.

Walking over to it, I saw that there was a very sloppily-scrawled 'Sorry' written on a sticky-note: as if it pained the person to write it. Dumping the contents of the bag on my bed, the Grinch-like grin returned to my face at the bag's contents. What had spilled from the bag was a small bottle of Liquid Ass, a container of live bait worms, some super glue, a pouch of itching powder, bleach, and a large dildo. Among the contents was a letter that only had at the most, two sentences written on it.

'Turns out Testaburger is terrified of snakes and bugs…seriously? How lame can that bitch be? Oh well, there will be cameras set in the classroom, cafeteria, and the locker hallway: don't chicken out.' I read, making my suspicions confirm that this package was from Eric, making me scoff in annoyance before putting the contents inside my backpack in a plastic bag: specifically the Liquid Ass. Feeling my phone vibrate as soon as I finished hiding the items away, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw I had a text from Kenny, telling me he had heard about what Eric said from Kyle and was asking if I was still interested in playing with them.

Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was getting close to 5:30, not giving me very much time to play, but hopefully enough to help me get my restless mind off of my 'conversation' with Blackwatch earlier. Quickly replying that I was on my way, I put my 'armor' and sword back on before heading downstairs: surprising myself to see that Alex had finished his homework and was also putting on his Thief gear. Smirking mischievously at my brother, we both headed out the front door: preparing to rejoin the fight for The Stick of Truth, where hopefully: things will still be the same as we crossed the yard and entered the human stronghold better known as Kupa Keep.


	31. Chapter 31

Walking through the open gate, I noticed that the boys weren't there, making me realize they all must be at Jimmy's house. Turning to Alex, I motioned for him to wait and guard the Keep while I jogged through Eric's house after saying 'hi' to Mrs. Cartman, and over to the periwinkle house in question. Running up onto the icy porch, I saw that everything was exactly as we had left it yesterday: making me wince at the damage. Navigating the splintered wood, 'fallen' elves, and broken furniture, I was able to head up the stairs and come across the boys as they waited for me outside the room where The Bard held The Stick hostage.

Heading over to them, I saw that Kenny kept glaring so harshly at Eric that I almost had to do a double-take: he looked as if it took everything in him not to pound the fat kid into the dirt, then bury him alive. Eric however, wouldn't meet my gaze with his usual 'I'm better than you' attitude: instead, he was nursing an impressive shiner that took up most of the right side of his face. For a split second, I thought that Kenny did that to him, but that idea went out the window when I saw no evidence of bruised knuckles on my orange-clad friend. 'I wonder who did that? But you know what: I really don't care, he deserved that shit.' I thought as I came to a stop next to Butters and Kenny and glanced around for a way to get the door open.

"Hey! Let us up!" Token called, drawing my attention to a hole in the ceiling that led to the attic, where an elf was seen peeking down at us. "You're not getting up here, the ladders' up here with me and I'm sure as shit not coming down there." came the reply from the elf, making me roll my eyes before I glanced at each of my friends. "It seems we're gonna need the charms of a lady." Eric said as he munched on some Cheesypoofs, making everybody turn their eyes to me, which did not make me feel comfortable at all. 'He doesn't HONESTLY expect me to-' I thought as a devious smirk stretched across his smug face, confirming my thoughts. "Absolutely not! There is no way in HELL I'm doing that so get that idea out of your head right now because it's NOT gonna happen!" I growled with a red face, and I could've sworn I heard a 'damn it' from Kenny but I couldn't be sure.

Putting down his bow, Kenny kneeled at my feet in a similar way Butters had several times before. "Your word is my command my Lady." he said as he waited for me to tell him what to do. "I've got this Kenny." I said, making him glance up at me in confusion as I smirked at the rest of the boys before I turned my gaze up at the hidden elf. "Last chance, let us up or I'm coming to get you myself." I told him, making him laugh mockingly, as if I told the funniest joke ever. "You? Get up here?! HA! There's no way you can reach me from down there so keep dreaming New Kid." the elf laughed, making me sigh before narrowing my eyes at the wall closest to the hole, where a drawing of a railing with trees sat taped to the wall.

Adjusting my beanie, I ran over to that wall and jumped off of it, making me bounce backwards as I twisted my body mid-air and grabbed hold of the edge and pulled myself up. Glaring at the elf, I crossed my arms smugly at the cheers and impressed whistles from down below as the nervous elf pulled his sword out and took a shaking fighting stance. "You were saying?" I questioned him, charging him before he even had a chance to react and whacked him upside the head with my sword, rendering him defeated with that single hit. "Hurry up MacManus! Don't hold up the game again!" Eric called in aggravation, making me roll my eyes as I kicked down the ladder, allowing Kenny to climb up and join me.

"Any idea on how to get The Stick?" he asked as we made our way around several boxes and come to a stop in front of a barricade with a pair of elves standing behind it. "Let's get rid of these guys first." I said as he nodded before unsheathing his bow and readying an arrow. Grabbing Kenny by the shoulder, I quietly pointed above the elves' heads: where a poorly-attached light hung by a single wire. Catching on to my idea, he nodded before releasing the arrow at the wire, causing the light to fall onto the unsuspecting pair's heads, knocking them out. "I almost felt bad for that one." I said as we climbed over the barricade and past the unconscious elves and over to the far end of the attic.

"Now what?" Kenny asked as I shushed him before crouching down on the dusty floorboards and placed my ear to them. For a few seconds I didn't hear anything, until the sounds of somebody walking around with crutches met my ears: confirming that The Bard was directly below us. "Nice view." he commented casually, laughing as I sent a scathing look in his direction as he discreetly tried to remove his gaze from my ass. Smacking him upside his head, I focused my gaze around the piles of stuff as I searched for something to help us. Dusting myself off, I picked up an expensive-looking vase from a nearby shelf and took aim at a set of metal shelves with a heavy trunk resting on the top shelf.

Pulling my arm back, I threw the vase at the weak frame, breaking both the vase and the frame as the black and blue trunk slid down the shelf and fell: creating a huge hole in the floor as well as allowed us passage to The Bard. "Now THAT'S how to make an entrance." I said with a grin as Kenny nodded, sharing my enthusiasm as we both jumped down into the room. With Kenny at my back, I turned around and unlocked the door: letting the rest of the boys inside as Eric stomped forward with an angry look on his face. Looking at the rest of the boys, I noticed that everyone but myself and Craig had pissed off looks on their faces as The Bard held The Stick over his head.

"You've nowhere to run Bard, give me The Stick of Truth!" Eric demanded, making The Bard laugh at the empty threat that lay hidden under the Grand Wizard's words. "Take it from me if you can W-Wizard King! Step forward now and fulfill your de-de-destiny!" The Bard challenged as he and Eric both took a step forward, making them almost nose-to-nose at this point. "You are no match for a GRAND WIZARD!" Eric said as he pointed his staff at his opponent. "The Stick belongs with us, and I shall use every bardic power in my class to keep it from you!" The Bard said as he held The Stick closer to himself and further out of Eric's reach. "Fine. You wanna through down brah? Kick his ass MacManus!" Eric ordered, bringing a look of confusion to The Bard's face.

"W-Wh-Who's MacManus?" he questioned, his stutter reminding me of how fearful some of my enemies were before I consumed them, making an unpleasant shudder run through me. "That's LADY MacManus to you! And she's about to teach you some manners Bard!" Eric shouted, making me actually do a double-take as he defended me before wincing and held a glove over his swollen, black-purple eye. 'Whoever did that must've knocked quite the bit of sense into him. Too bad I missed it…I would've brought popcorn.' I thought with a smirk before settling my gaze on the Drow Elf in front of me.

Placing The Stick under his paper hat, he took out a wooden recorder as Kenny and I took our stances. Playing a strange tune, The Bard did a small dance as three rats with jester hats crawled out from under the bed, stood in front of him, and hissed at us. "Wow, what a terrific target." The Bard said, making me narrow my eyes and share a look with Kenny. "Who're you calling target?!" I snapped, charging and taking out one of the rats with a single swing of my sword. Backing up, Kenny notched three arrows and took out the other two rodents with ease: leaving nothing between us and The Bard.

Glaring at us, The Bard pulled out his lute and began playing a rather soothing tune. "Sleep now, the whip-poor-wills are d-dancing. Gently now, put your m-mind to rest." he sang, making me feel a little light-headed as both his song and lack of sleep started to get to me as Kenny toppled over onto the floor with a 'thud'. Shaking my head furiously, I snapped myself out of it as Kenny snored away on the carpet, jolting awake quickly as I poured a water bottle on him. "Thanks." he said as he readied his bow again, narrowing his blue eyes at The Bard as I made to charge him again. It wasn't until I made my attack that something totally unexpected happened: as I made to hit him with my sword, The Bard blocked it with one of his crutches, rendering my attack useless.

"You want a p-piece of this?" he growled before he pulled his other arm back and made to counter-hit me as I quickly raised my sword to block it. Unfortunately, his metal crutch made contact with the crack I had completely forgotten about, snapping the wooden sword in two and nailed me dead in the center of my head: knocking me flat on my back. "Holy shit, dude!" Eric said from the sidelines as multiple concerned questions came from the boys, making my ears hurt as I shook my head to clear it before flipping back on my feet in a backwards roll.

"Are you okay?" Kenny asked, concern written all over his face as I nodded before glaring back at The Bard. "This'll be my g-greatest performance." he said, pulling part of his costume over his nose and mouth as he started playing his lute in a rapid and moving tune. "The hell it will!" I yelled as I charged him again, nailing him in the side with a brutal roundhouse kick, knocking the lute from his grasp and out of reach. Ignoring the cheers from the sidelines, I returned to my spot as Kenny shot three more arrows: all of them hitting home as The Bard staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on his crutches in order to keep himself upright. Deciding to try something new, I grabbed a football helmet from under the bed and put it on.

'Why would this kid even have this?' I wondered as I ran at him and crouched on the floor, smirking as The Bard gulped and made to try to defend himself as I kicked the carpet a couple times before bolting forward, ramming my protected head directly into his stomach, sending him on his ass with a pained whine: making me feel horrible for beating up a crippled kid. When The Bard didn't get back up, I realized that what I just did was all that was needed to finish him off as I stood back up and took the helmet off. "D-Dirty w-wench." The Bard snarled as he tried to reach for The Stick as it fell out from under his hat, only to have Eric stomp unnecessarily hard on his hand: giving him free reign to recollect the stolen branch that 'controlled the universe'.

"THE STICK IS OURS!" Eric cheered in victory as he held The Stick as high as he could, causing all of us to cheer and dance as we made our way out of the destroyed house and back in the direction of Kupa Keep, aware that it was rapidly getting dark as the streetlights flashed to life: meaning Alex and I had to go home soon to avoid being grounded. The walk back was actually as enjoyable as it could be with someone like Eric around, but he was more preoccupied with his shiner then the rest of the group's fun.

Walking through the open gate of Eric's backyard, I was playfully shoved to the side by Kenny: who I shoved back. This continued until he shoved me and knocked me into Butters, who fell on Craig, who tripped over Tweek and made him have a heavy-duty panic attack and run into Token, who stumbled into Scott: resulting in one big tangle of limbs, bodies and costumes. From my position, I couldn't tell whose foot belonged to who or which arm went where, all I knew was we all ended up in one big dog-pile and Eric and Kenny were laughing their asses off at us. 'Bastards.' I thought as I tried to untangle myself, only to be shoved deeper into the pile of bodies when Kenny decided it was a good time for him to join in, resulting in angry shouts and cries of pain.

Shoving Scott aside, I spotted Craig fixing his blue chullo hat with the yellow poofball on it over the top of Butters' head as Kenny flipped himself over and decided to try to get 'cuddly' with me, only to freeze as both his and Craig's faces paled. "What?" I asked, getting no reply from either of them as they stared behind me with wide eyes. Glancing behind me, I whined nervously as Eric stood not five feet away: the streetlight behind him covering his front in deep dark shadows, adding to the eerie look on his face. Feeling the group under and around me look in his direction in some way or other, I couldn't stop the nervous gulp as a wicked toothy grin spread across his chubby face.

"Oh…fuck." I whimpered as everyone put extra effort in getting unstuck as quickly as we could, only making it worse as Eric waddled over as fast as his legs could carry him. "I-I love you guys!" Butters yelled as Eric suddenly jumped up and spread all his limbs out, laughing obnoxiously as we all let out terrified screams before 'Free Willy' crash-landed painfully on top of us, burying the ones on the bottom deep into the snowdrift in the yard. "Cartman…you have three seconds to get off before I send you to the moon." I growled, feeling painfully satisfied at how quickly he got off: I guess being round helps. Once he was out of the way, it was actually easy to get everybody unstuck and I face-palmed when this somehow didn't happen BEFORE we were practically squished.

Walking over to Eric, I snatched his hat as he yelled for me to give it back, stuffed it full of snow, and slammed it back on his head: making everybody laugh as we continued to celebrate the return of The Stick, and the defeat of the Drow elves that would've most definitely given us problems later. We were so busy having fun and being kids, that we were completely unaware that the shit was about to hit the fan: far sooner than anyone could've anticipated or prepared for.


	32. Chapter 32

Once the fun was over, we all watched as Eric placed The Stick back on its pillow under the lamp in the tent as Alex walked over to us. Resting my elbow on his head, we stood at attention as Eric exited the tent and stood at the front of the group. "The Stick of Truth is back where it belongs!" he said as he walked past us and turned to me. "MacManus, for your heroic deeds and valiant self-sacrifice at the great Battle of The Giggling Donkey, I hereby make you an official member of the Kingdom of Kupa Keep. Welcome, to the KKK." he said, making everyone around erupt in applause while Alex and I looked at each other like he was insane.

'Really Eric, you couldn't use different initials for that?' I thought with a sigh as Eric turned his attention to my brother. "As for you Douchebag, your skills still need to be proven, therefore you will act as our spy. Train under Craig in the ways of the Thief, then spy on those gay Drow Elves: find out their plans and report back here so that we may be one step ahead of them in this war." Eric said, surprising my brother with his task before he nodded: accepting his challenge as the sound of someone opening the sliding glass door caught everyone's attention. Looking over to the house, I saw Mrs. Cartman leaning out the door as she called to Eric.

"It's getting late, the Grand Wizard needs to go nite-nite." she said, making me giggle behind my hand at the look of embarrassment on Eric's face before he pinched the bridge of his nose, wincing as he bumped his shiner. "Okay, mom-thanks for pointing out bedtime for everyone." he said as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's a school night hon. You and your little Druid friends need to-" she started, only to have Eric whirl around with an angry look on his face. 'Here we go.' I thought with a smirk as I saw how Eric looked like he was about to explode. "WE'RE NOT DRUIDS MOM! WE'RE FUCKING WARRIORS AND WIZARDS!" he yelled, making my eyebrows reach my hairline at the language he used against his own mother.

"Don't you even think about using that kind of language around mom and dad." I warned Alex as he looked at me with a similar incredulous look on the visible part of his face. "Okay Saphira." he said quietly as Mrs. Cartman angrily stomped out of the house and straight towards Eric. "Oh that's it! You're going to bed, the rest of you better get home too." she said as she grabbed hold of Eric's arm and dragged him across the yard and into the house, leaving the others to quickly say their goodbyes and dash off for home. "C'mon Alex, we're late enough as it is and you know how dad can be." I said as we walked through Eric's house and out the front door. Glancing at Alex as he sneezed, I helped him up the slippery driveway and into the house, where both my parents sat on the couch with pleased looks on their faces.

"Well, there they are! You cut it pretty close this time Saphira." dad said as he glared at me while mom helped Alex get out of his multiple layers of clothing. "I saw you playing with your new friends, today was a good day I hope?" mom said as I nodded while I removed my wet boots and socks and put them in front of the fireplace so they could dry. "Nothing to say huh, what a surprise." dad scoffed at Alex, making me halt halfway up the stairs and glare back at him. "You KNOW why he doesn't talk, leave him alone." I said as he practically jumped from the couch and stormed over to me, breaking out of mom's grip as she tried to hold him back.

"Because his sister's a monster who doesn't deserve to live! How often do you threaten him Saphira?! Every week? Every day? I don't even know why we bothered to sneak you out of Miami: you were under control and out of the way. If it wasn't for you we would be living normal lives without a disgusting, useless, monstrous failure like YOU here to fuck everything up! If Blackwatch were here right now, I'd invite them in for a beer while they took you back to where you belong: in a cage far away from us!" he shouted as he made to take his belt off, making my blood boil in outrage as I glared at him with my burning, orange-tinted eyes from the top of the stairs.

"How dare you say that to me?! You call me all these nasty things when this is all YOUR fault! If you hadn't taken me to be experimented on in the first place, none of this would've ever happened!" I retorted angrily as the biomass consumed my clothes and exposed my body suit, making my father falter in his rage. "You blame all this shit on me, when as far as I'm concerned: you're no better than the people who did this to me." I snarled as several tendrils formed and thrashed aggressively, making the threat crystal clear as I turned around and slammed the door to our room shut, scaring Alex's fish and made Hershey fall off her branch. "Sorry Hershey." I muttered as I stormed over to the window and opened it, ignoring the look of pity my brother sent my way.

"I won't tell." he said as he changed into his Terrance and Phillip PJs and got into bed while I climbed out onto the roof again, letting the sub-zero air and snow cool me off before I felt obligated to introduce my tendrils to my bastard of a father. Wiping my eyes to clear them of snowflakes and tears of rage, I perked up as I spotted a shadow leaning against the chimney. I didn't even have to guess who it was, considering the figure has been practically stalking me ever since I moved to South Park. Turning my back to the visitor, I took a seat on the edge of the roof and stared at the violet, cloudy sky. "Is he always like that?" Mysterion questioned as he approached me from the shadows. "Sorry you had to hear that, it's embarrassing to know when others hear what goes on in my family. But yeah, that happens…a lot." I said as I stared at the clouds and the last glimmer of sunlight that could be seen between the mountains.

"Do you need me to-" he started, only to have me shake my head before he could even finish. "You don't need to get involved in my mess, besides: he's afraid of me and I'd rather not continue this conversation." I said as he crouched next to my spot and stared out at the neighborhood, making sure there wasn't any trouble. "That cave I found you in wasn't there before, and I have lived here all my life. You created it, didn't you?" he asked, making me glance over at him before staring at my feet as they dangled off the edge of the roof. "I didn't want to hurt anybody after what Eric said, so I took it out on what I could. Better a mountain than an innocent, I think." I said quietly as I heard my mom say goodnight to Alex and ask where I went, only to leave a minute later.

"Yes. A mountain is better than an innocent, but I've been wondering something." he said, drawing my attention to him again as he stared intently at me. "Considering you know things about me most people don't, and because I trust that you won't go running your mouth to everyone in sight: I'll answer whatever question you have." I replied, bracing myself for whatever he was about to ask me. "You said you could shapeshift, and after witnessing it myself…I believe it to be true. Those people you change into: what happens to them?" he asked, making me cringe. 'Why couldn't he have picked a better question then that?' I wondered as I sighed, letting a puff of visible air hover in front of my face before disappearing.

"Whoever or whatever I change into, I have to absorb or consume them first. I don't 'eat' them like the word means, what happens is the virus takes them and turns them into a part of me. It's very painful and they die from it: giving me their lives, memories, and form. I feel like the lowest of all scum every time I do it, but I don't have a choice if I want to live. The worst part about it is I constantly hear their cries and screams in my head, and they will never go away." I explained as he paled, moving a bit away from me by the time I finished: it hurt to watch him do that, but I understood why he would.

"How many?" he demanded, making me frown and look away from him in deep personal shame. "Too many." I answered, giving him all he needed to know as I stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the roof. "I saw your shadow on the wall from where I was: what were those things that came out of your suit?" he questioned from the highest point of the roof, making me want to scoff but I didn't. "You're full of questions tonight Mysterion, I didn't know you could talk this much." I joked lightly, trying to lighten the melancholy mood that seemed to hover over us like a dark cloud.

He didn't find the humor in my words though as he narrowed his eyes at me, warning me to stop with the jokes and answer seriously. "I really don't know WHAT they are exactly, but they only show up when I'm really angry or when I want them to." I said, calling up three tendrils to prove my point as well as let him take a closer look. Hearing him hop down and walk over to me, I glanced over my shoulder as he took in the wriggling strands of black-cherry biomass as they moved like the tentacles of an octopus or squid. "You can control them?" he asked as he slowly stretched his hand out to touch one, flinching as all three of them wound themselves loosely around his arm and began exploring him curiously.

"To a point yes, I can control them when reaching for something or attacking something in my defense. But when they're idle like they are now: they do their own thing." I said as the vigilante watched nervously as the tendrils wound themselves around his body and squeezed him: like an octopus with a puzzlebox. I tried not to laugh as one of the tendrils crawled up his arm and kept playing with the question mark on top of his head, making a slight 'boing' sound, to Mysterion's annoyance. "They like you." I said, calling them back as they almost reluctantly retreated from their new playground and vanished back into the body suit. When he didn't reply, I turned my attention to downtown: where several lights remained on in some of the buildings as people made their way out to dinner, or on their way home.

'This is too good of a place to be destroyed by Gentek, I may not have been here long…but its home.' I thought as Mysterion and I watched over the city, with the glowing of my body suit acting as our flashlight. After a few minutes of nothing happening, we both agreed to move to a different spot, which so happened to be the roof of Walgreens. Taking a break as the town seemed to be crime-free tonight, my sensitive ears picked up something I prayed to god every day that would never be heard again. Snatching hold of Mysterion's cape, I yanked him back against a heavily-shadowed wall that wasn't easily seen from anywhere. "What the hell was that for?!" he angrily hissed, only to stop struggling as I put my glove over his mouth to shut him up.

Raising my other hand, I held a finger over my mouth: signaling for him to be quiet and to listen. After a minute or two, nothing was heard: until the rhythmic and constant sound of the blades of a helicopter became louder than the wind. 'Shit! My suit glows!' I thought as I quickly ordered the biomass to change my form into something else, which it complied and turned me into a civilian I accidentally consumed: one of the first people I ever did. Ignoring the shock and confusion on Mysterion's face, I watched with mind-numbing dread as a solid-black helicopter noisily flew above us and toward the center of town. Feeling Mysterion place a gloved hand on my wrist as I tensed up in fear, he followed my terrified gaze to the underbelly of the chopper and spied the large emblem: a black and white star with wings.

But it was what the helicopter was carrying that had my full attention: attached to two thick chains, was a large, metal cargo box that ships sometimes carry. I didn't know what was in that box, but if Blackwatch was carrying it here…could only spell the worst of the worst of possible things. Once the chopper halted and hovered mid-air, I removed my hand from Mysterion's mouth and stared him dead in the eye as the biomass changed my form back into my original self. "Was that-" he started, only to grit his teeth as I nodded and tried not to become gripped in fear.

"Against my efforts, they still came, and whatever THAT is in that box will be the start of many terrible things. I'm so SO sorry they tracked me here Mysterion…and for that, it's my job to get rid of them." I said, not giving him a chance to respond or protest as I took off running and used the virus' biomass to glide from building to building until I reached a spot close to where that dreadful chopper was hovering, preparing to deliver its deadly cargo…and whatever else decided to go along with it.


	33. Chapter 33

Keeping myself hidden, I watched as the chopper lowered itself and detached the box: sending it crashing loudly to the street below. Watching the chopper, I saw it take off again and begin patrolling the city with its searchlight on. Pulling my hood up, I waited until the chopper was far away from me before I leapt down and cautiously approached the faded-red box that sat ominously in the middle of the dimly-lit street.

In the stillness of the night, I was able to clearly hear the hungry growls and snorts of the creature that was trapped inside the box: making me want to scream in anger at my misfortune. 'Out of all things, WHY must they bring one of those?!' I thought as I quickly jumped back into a heavily-shadowed alley as the chopper circled back to where I was. Once it was gone, I made my way back over to the box and tried to think of a way to get rid of both the creature AND the chopper when my focus was stolen by another aggravation I didn't need.

At the gasp of fear and shock, I turned around to find none-other than Wendy exiting a building that just-so-happened to be right behind me. The shock on her face quickly turned into smugness: confirming that she had recognized me, even from under my hood and glowing body suit. "Well well, look who we have here: South Park's very own monster, I hoped I would find you ya know: so I could expose you for what you really are." she said snidely as she walked closer, making a cold sweat break out on the back of my neck as I heard the beast become more active as her scent wafted inside the holes in the box.

"You can harass me like the bitch you are all you want at school: but this is NOT the place for you right now." I growled from under my hood, making an ugly, scrunched-up look appear on her face. "Don't you dare tell me where I can and can't be you whore! First you move in on MY man, now you want to control the streets?! I don't fucking think so!" she yelled as she pulled out a gun from her purse, making me roll my eyes at her very foolish decision. Pointing the weapon at me, she cackled in victory as she firmly believed she had me trapped.

"Looks like I win, and no one will ever know that it was a single bullet that killed the monster. Once I put you down: the people of this town will look up to me to protect them now that Mysterion quit, see you in hell Monster." she snarled as she made to pull the trigger: only to freeze as the 'whoosh' of fabric and boots making contact with the pavement distracted her as a large, dark shape landed between the psychotic bitch and me. In the pale-yellow glow of the streetlights, I was able to barely see the furious glare in Mysterion's eyes as he crouched in front of me and stared at Wendy. Slowly backing up against the cold metal box, I watched as Wendy's face lost all of its color as she took in the vigilante that was NOT happy.

"M-M-Mysterion! I-I…What are you doing here?!" she stuttered as she struggled to hold her grip on the shaking gun that was still pointed in my direction. "How about you find another little girl to pick on, let alone threaten with a gun." he growled, his voice coming out much more dangerous than I had ever heard him, and even that was enough to force a tremble through my body suit. "Mind your business Mysterion, I'm protecting the town by getting rid of that monster behind you." she said, getting over her initial shock and steadied her hand as she glared over the top of his head at me.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't appreciate that very much as he stood up from his kneeling position, dashed forward, and nailed a vicious punch to her gut: making her drop the gun and bend over as she fought to catch her breath. Jumping off the ground, I watched as Mysterion whacked her in the side of the head with a solid roundhouse kick that sent her flat on her back on the snow-covered pavement. Glancing up at the sky, I let out a temporary sigh of relief when the chopper didn't come back this way and spot us: however, the activity going on between the vigilante and Wendy was quickly riling up the beast in the box, and only got worse when Wendy stood up with a bloody nose and made to defend herself, only to trip over her purse and fall flat on her face.

Yanking her up by her messy hair, Mysterion held the wounded girl close to his face so she was eye-level with him. "Saphira MacManus is off limits, DO you understand?! Make sure everyone in your posse knows, or else you will be receiving much more than a broken nose." he threatened, oblivious to the breeze that blew the scent of her blood inside the box, causing the growls and snarls to become more frequent and desperate. 'As much as I want to, you will not be eating anything today.' I thought to the bloodthirsty creature as I backed up and prepared to hold the massive door of the container shut.

"As satisfying as this all is Mysterion, you and that wench need to leave…NOW." I said urgently as he glanced back at the sound of his name before turning his attention back to Wendy as he roughly shoved her away from him, allowing the bitch in purple to stagger to her feet and run off. Kicking the loaded gun into a storm drain, the vigilante moved to approach the box cautiously as I rapidly shook my head and halted his advances as both he and I took whatever cover we could find as the chopper made another pass before it disappeared again.

"Mysterion I'm serious! This is NOT the place for you!" I said quickly as the beast furiously paced the length of the box as the scent of prey ventured closer. "Are you alright?" he asked, completely ignoring my efforts to keep him away as he walked up to the box I was desperately trying to hold closed. "Fine! Now get out of here before-" I started, only to panic as I heard the beast back up: which only meant one thing. Whirling around, I engulfed the locking mechanism of the doors shut as tightly as I could and twisted the thick metal like a twist tie, only to be thrown backwards as the beast charged into the doors with a very loud 'BANG'.

Jumping back to my feet, I shoved Mysterion back as another 'BANG' echoed from the box, causing the seemingly-fearless vigilante to gulp nervously. "Mysterion, what is in that box is beyond what you can handle, now be the smart kid I know you are and RUN!" I yelled at him as a final 'BANG' sounded, releasing the monster that Blackwatch had sent as their twisted version of a 'care package' to the town. It was huge: about the size of a short bus with gigantic claws: the very claws that my own came from. It walked on all fours, with four of those huge deadly claws dominating each of its muscular feet as it paced in front of us like a lion. Its skin looked horribly burnt as the hardened, glowing biomass made it look as if the monster had been skinned alive: exposing unnatural muscle and tendons that would normally be hidden from view.

Each of its forty crooked and mismatched teeth were as long as I was tall and were stained with tartar and the blood of old meals as it snapped its thick, bear trap-like jaws at us. The creature had no nose: only a hole in its short snout where one should've been while a long, pale tongue licked its chops: sending dark drool splashing across the pavement. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mysterion shaking in his boots as the Hunter glared hungrily at him: staring into his soul with midnight-black eyes. Snarling at us, it focused its glowing red pupils on the vigilante before clawing at the ground with its four-foot long claws. 'God damnit!' I snarled to myself as the beast charged in a gallop, sending crumbling pavement behind it like dust, only to be sent tumbling off balance as I leapt forward and rammed my shoulder into it: knocking it into a nearby fire escape.

"Do you NOT listen?! RUN Mysterion!" I ordered, snapping him out of it as the Hunter shook its massive head and roared at me while my arms changed into my own claws. When he dashed off, I was able to finally focus on the Hunter as it bounded full-speed at me with a gaping maw, only to miss as I ducked under it and ran my claws down its belly: leaving five gaping wounds that gushed blood by the pints. Snorting angrily at me, it reared up on its hind legs and tried to swat me like an insect, which I dodged by jumping over its powerful limbs and punched it in the face with my Hammerfist: shattering its teeth and flipped it over onto its back.

Quickly summoning my Whipfist, I grabbed a nearby car and threw it at the Hunter's head as it leapt at me again. Taking the car full force, it managed to somehow twist its muscular body and backhand me into the same building Wendy had been in just a few minutes ago. Shaking away the dizziness and pain, I jumped out of the pile of concrete just in time to avoid the creature's well-timed pounce. Getting a mouthful of stone and rebar, the Hunter snarled before charging at me again, only to shriek in pain when it came face-to-face with the large blade that had taken the place of my right arm. The only downside of this ability: was how slow it made me in terms of dodging, which I learned the hard way as I suddenly found myself pinned between the broken pavement and the massive creature's paw.

Lowering its bloodied snout, the Hunter sniffed my body suit before opening its jaws and drooled on me: covering my nine year old form in thick, hot, nasty saliva. Baring my teeth at it with a glare, I silently challenged it into taking a bite as my blue eyes made contact with its black and red ones. Narrowing its beady eyes into slits, it pounded its other paw into a fist directly next to my head as it roared in my face, allowing me the 'pleasure' of seeing the rotting meat stuck between its teeth and rancid breath that called that glowing cave of a mouth home.

Rearing its head back, the Hunter dug its claws into the ground around me with the grip of a vice as it licked its broken teeth with a snarl. Just as the beast was about to lunge, it was suddenly shot in the side of the head with a large firework, startling it into releasing me as I back-flipped away from it. Glancing for the cause of the firework, I ground my teeth as I spotted Mysterion aiming another lit mortar at the angry Hunter. "Do you HONESTLY have a death wish?!" I snapped at him as the triple-breaker exploded from the tube and onto the Hunter's body in a blend of gold, red, and blue.

"Can't die." he said as he prepared to load another one, completely letting his guard down as the Hunter shrieked and lunged through the smoke with both front paws extended: looking no more bloodthirsty than it was pissed off. "Oh no you don't!" I snarled as I transformed my right arm into the Whipfist and used it to snatch and constrict around Mysterion's body as I yanked him out of the Hunter's path. It was then two things happened: I startled Mysterion into dropping the mortar that ended up exploding directly in front of the helicopter pilot's vision. The other, more serious action was the Hunter missed its target: but not enough to leave the vigilante unscathed.

As I pulled him out of the monster's path, the Hunter turned on a dime, causing its massive metal claws to graze diagonally across his chest: leaving long, deep wounds that allowed me to see the bones of his ribcage underneath the large amounts of blood he was losing. Feeling the color drain from my face at the sight of his wounds, I quickly hid him behind a car: giving me time to change both my arms into the blades and jump at the Hunter the same time it turned on me: enraged that I had denied it its meal.

Lunging at me, I twisted my body in mid-air to avoid its claws and slashed both my bladed-arms across each other: cleaving the beast in two, leaving the parts to separate as soon as I hit the ground in a crouch. Watching the split Hunter's halves twitch and jerk around, I dashed over to the top of the car to see Mysterion choking on his own blood as he tried to hold himself together. Poor kid was in so much pain he didn't even recognize who I was as I knelt next to him and picked him up bridal-style: wincing and mumbling apologies at the cries of agony that came from him.

After I got him situated to where I could carry him and run if I had to, I glanced up at the staggering chopper as the pilot fought to regain both their vision and control of the machine: just as a fucking UFO crashed downward in a nosedive and slammed right into the Blackwatch chopper: sending both of them falling in the direction of the mall in a sea of flames and screaming metal. Glancing down at Mysterion's painful expression from under the beak of my hood, I turned in the direction of my house and took off running, using multiple tendrils to cover his wound and hold it closed to keep him from bleeding to death as I did so.

Sprinting through the playground, I kept begging whatever supernatural force was out there to help Mysterion: at least until I got him to where I needed to be. Even if some god or other powerful being chose to help him, I knew deep inside that the real decision on whether or not he would survive was up to him, and for some reason…that scared me.


	34. Chapter 34

Sprinting down my street, I lowered my head and used it to break down my front door like a battering ram: scaring the shit out of both my parents as they watched T.V. only to leap from the couch as I bounded for the stairs. "Saphira, what on earth?!" mom yelled as I jumped up the staircase and into one of the guest rooms, leaving an alarming amount of Mysterion's blood to paint the floor. "Now she's gone and done it! She attacked somebody and the kids' dying in our house!" dad snarled as he and mom ran into the guest room, just as I ripped the sheets and covers from the bed and set the wounded vigilante on the bare mattress.

"Saphira what did you do?!" mom gasped as I became cloaked in biomass and changed my form into a Marine combat medic. "I didn't DO anything, he was clawed by a fucking Hunter! Now you can either get your asses over here and HELP me, or you can get out!" I yelled in the female medic's voice, paying them no mind as their faces paled while I ripped apart the white sheets into long strips and set them to the side. "Sorry Mysterion, I'll fix this later." I promised as I tore the top of his costume from his body, exposing the wound that would even make veteran doctors ill. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw mom gasp as she set down peroxide, ointment and a sewing kit while dad's face turned all shades of green.

Biting my lip as the wounded kid's whimpers started to get to me, I pinched the pressure-point on the back of his neck in order to knock him out. 'Sorry.' I thought as I nodded to mom: who moved to help pin him to the bed as I unscrewed the lid of the peroxide bottle. It took everything I had to block out the screams, begs, and pleads to stop as I poured the awful liquid on each of the three bone-deep lacerations: each of which sizzled and bubbled mercilessly. Stepping outside, dad kept Alex away as Mysterion screamed himself hoarse, only to have me knock him out again before I took a cloth and dabbed the foamy liquid away as carefully as I could.

'What I wouldn't give for some Morphine…hell even Ibuprofen would be nice.' I thought as Alex walked in and handed mom a pot of boiled water. "Sorry Mysterion, I really am." I said to his unconscious form as I dipped the sewing needle in the water, aware of the curious look mom sent my way before shooing Alex out of the room. With a heavy sigh, I threaded the needle and got to work on sewing him shut while mom did her best to distract him by doing what moms do. Even though I didn't do this often, the medic I had consumed had been one of the best so I trusted her knowledge as I stitched the uneven, ragged, and just plain shredded wounds shut: leaving tiny gaps between the stitching so the wound could breathe.

After about three hours of sewing him back together, the last claw mark was closed up, leaving me to gently disinfect them with ointment and an alcohol swab. With mom's help we got him sitting up enough for me to wrap his torso in the makeshift bandages before setting him back on the bed. With a keen eye, I made sure he wasn't injured too badly anywhere else before I stood up straight, feeling the biomass crawl and shift until I became my original form again. Once he was settled and covered up with the discarded blanket, I picked up his ripped-to-shit uniform: seeing as the talons of the Hunter had torn right through the 'M' and almost from the right shoulder to the bottom of the left side.

"Now, you ARE going to explain this, Saphira Alexandria." mom said sternly, bringing out my middle name to prove her seriousness. Glancing at Mysterion's hooded and masked face, I nodded before following my mother out the door: closing it quietly as I did so. Creeping down the stairs, I saw my father growling and angrily pacing in front of the fireplace: the T.V. turned off and long-forgotten. Spotting me at the bottom of the steps, he and mom stood firmly with their arms crossed, waiting for an explanation. "Well go on then: let's hear it! I'd LOVE to hear your excuse this time." dad growled as I sighed before sitting on the couch in front of them.

"I met him when we first moved here: he's kinda the town's superhero. He helped me out multiple times whenever YOU yelled at me or treated me bad. He didn't ask questions, just…stayed there: like the friend he is. Well, when you yelled at me and pissed me off, I sat on the roof and just talked to him when he showed up: he heard you by the way." I paused, internally smirking at the look on his face: like a cookie thief that just got busted. "That's when the chopper showed up." I said with a gulp as both my parents became more alert: paying special attention to me now. "They were carrying a shipping container as a 'care package' that they dropped in the middle of town. Since they were here looking for me, I couldn't let that thing run amok and cause mayhem so I went to go kill it: I didn't know it was going to be a Hunter though. Nobody saw me or it if that's what you're wondering: and both it and the chopper have been dealt with, even though the idiot upstairs 'tried' to help and save me when I had it covered. Long story short: he's lucky to have the wounds he does, if I didn't pull him back…he would be in pieces right now." I explained as dad started pacing again while mom worried on her lip and looked at her folded hands.

"Should've known they'd be here sooner or later, you attracted WAY too much attention to yourself and this family, therefore: as of this moment until they leave –if they do- you are grounded. Now get upstairs and out of my sight." dad said as he poured himself a glass of bourbon and downed it in one gulp. "But dad-" I started, panicking about the fact that if I was grounded…who was going to protect the town from incidences like what just happened. "This instant young lady!" he yelled, making me growl in frustration before reluctantly tromping up the stairs and in my room, listening to my dad reattach the broken door with his tools. Entering my room, I saw Alex staring at me with wide fearful eyes: letting me know he had heard what I said downstairs.

"Alex, it's four in the morning: I'm tired and not in the mood for any more family drama. Go and sleep with mom and dad, I need time to think." I said as he hopped down from his bed and dashed off for my parents' room, giving me the peace I needed in order to figure out what to do. 'Now what? I can't protect anybody from Gentek or Blackwatch because I'm grounded…but WAIT a second! I'M grounded…but Blacklight isn't! Christ, I think I hang out with Eric WAY too much: making me break the rules and shit.' I thought with a tired groan as I massaged a nasty on-coming migraine as I dug out my 'How to Train your Dragon' print sleeping bag out from under my bed and grabbed my pillow.

'Once he wakes up, he's gonna lose his shit.' I thought as I snuck out of my room and into the one Mysterion occupied. Taking in his pained but sleeping expression, I unrolled my sleeping bag and settled myself on the floor at the foot of the bed, ready to be there in case he woke up and freaked out. It was about noon the next day when I woke up and checked on the vigilante, slightly worried that he wasn't awake but then again: he was lucky to be alive at all. Feeling my stomach grumble, I left him in peace and headed downstairs to get something to eat: only to almost run into Eric as Alex let him inside the house, even though my brother was still in his PJs.

Taking in his nervous expression, my body suit immediately tensed something fierce as he looked over at me before running over. Once he caught his breath from both panicking and running, he kept stumbling over his words until he finally got his mouth to work right, letting him say what he was going to. "Aghgh! MY GOD! They came outta nowhere! There was this huge earthquake and then, and then there was burning in my yard! Didn't you hear about it?! It's all over the news, look!" he ranted as he turned on the T.V. and showed us the news story that showed the still-burning remains of the UFO and the Blackwatch chopper that went down last night.

Out of the corner of the screen, I saw a group of curious people surrounding the remains of the dead Hunter: some even poking it with sticks, but it was the voice of the newsman that had my attention. "…and that a large earthquake and several fires in the South Park area, woke many residents from their sleep. Here with the report is a midget in a bikini." he said as the camera view changed to the scene of the commotion, where a little person wearing a pink bikini stood in front of the chaos that was unfolding.

Several helicopters were trying to lay extremely small tarps over the hull of the UFO that didn't cover it at all as military and government agents kept curious onlookers away. Taking a good look at the soldiers, I sighed in relief that none of them were a part of Blackwatch: but that didn't mean they weren't watching. "Tom, government officials are assuring everyone nothing out of the ordinary has happened. They claim that the only reason why tents have gone up to cover this area is to mask the construction of a new Taco Bell, which is scheduled to open sometime later this month. They also claim that the body of the strange creature found nearby, was part of a animatronic show that was to be included within the Taco Bell, and is not in any way related to the damage done to the surrounding area." the reporter said before the camera reverted back to the newsman, who looked like he truly believed that bullshit story.

"Thanks midget I do love me some Taco Bell. The mayor of South Park states that last night's tremors and fires are under control and that schools and businesses can open again soon." he said before Eric shut off the T.V. and looked at Alex as he hid behind me. "It's horrible, you don't understand. The elves…THEY TOOK THE STICK! And its bullshit, because that is TOTALLY CHEATING! We specifically said no trying to take The Stick at night. Elves are DIRTY LITTLE LIARS and we need to lay waste to their ENTIRE base! You have an incredible ability to fight and take hits Lady MacManus: I'm sending you into the Hornet's Nest. You will infiltrate their base and find out where they've hidden The Stick, while your brother goes out into the lands of Zaron and recruits a whole other FACTION to Kupa Keep. Find the Goth kids and give them this letter, get them to join our kingdom and we shall lay waste to those Drow elves once and for all! Fucking cheaters…." he grumbled as he headed out of the house and back over to the kingdom, while Alex took the letter nervously from the coffee table and looked at me fearfully from under his Thief garb as he put it on.

"I know what you're worried about, don't worry Alex: they won't get close to you. If they even THINK about it, well…I don't have to explain what will happen." I said as I nudged him out the door before closing it and leaned against it with a sigh. 'If it's not one thing it's a thousand others. I'm too young to be bothered with this shit.' I griped to myself as I went back upstairs and checked on Mysterion, frowning as I noticed he was still out. 'Looks like I need to go to the hospital and pick up some more bandages and Morphine.' I thought as I wrote him a note explaining where he was, how he got there and what happened, just in case he woke up while I was out, especially since both my parents were working.

Quietly closing the door, I went back downstairs and grabbed myself some breakfast before heading out the door, only to stop in my tracks as I spotted a large cardboard box sitting on the porch. Picking up the slightly-heavy box, I saw it was addressed to me in crayon: making me raise an eyebrow at it before bringing it inside. Setting the box on the floor, I gave it a sniff: thankful that nothing dangerous was in it according to my nose as I opened the flaps. Reaching inside the box, I pulled out a brown football helmet with a whisk of a broom attached to the top. Running my hand over the rough bristles, I noticed that there were more items inside the box.

Setting the helmet aside, I pulled out a pair of light-gray shoulder plates that were thick and sturdy that were just my size. Putting those down, I turned the box upside-down: revealing a dark-red sweater, brown gloves, and dark-teal pants: all brand new, thank god. Taking off my old Fighter's attire, I put my new equipment on and discovered the entire new armor set to be a perfect fit. 'Now all I need is a weapon, oh wait…I AM a weapon.' I mused sarcastically as I threw the empty box away and headed out the front door: completely disregarding the fact that I had been grounded: because when you've lived most of your childhood in a cage like I had, I'd take every chance at freedom I could take, no matter how small.


	35. Chapter 35

Stepping out into the cold, I glanced for cars before crossing the street and headed over to Kyle's house. Getting close to the fence, I heard Stan and Kyle arguing while mentioning my name more than once, making me frown as I peeked through a knothole in the fence. Spotting the two, I glanced around to see if any of the elves were looking this way before jumping on top of the fence before quietly climbing the tree and perched on the roof of the two story treehouse.

From up here, I could clearly hear the heated argument between the elf king and his enforcer quite clearly: and I did not like what was being said. "I really don't like this Stan, there's something not right going on here. I think Saphira might have something to do with it." Kyle said as I crouched on the roof of the treehouse: paying no mind to the oblivious elves down below. "I noticed the weird things happening too, but what makes you think she caused it, I mean she put Cartman in his place sure: but that doesn't mean she's dangerous." Stan replied as Kyle paced in front of him.

"It's not IF she's dangerous, it's what she said: she isn't normal like the rest of us, and apparently she has been locked up for a long time. What does that tell you Stan?" the Elf King said sarcastically as Stan sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, I know what she did to Cartman was scary: as well as how fast she made those snowmen at school, but the New Kid has a power we've yet to understand." Stan said, trying to reason with his friend as Kyle whirled around and glared at him.

"Then how can we trust her?! I don't know about you, but until she can be trusted: I'm staying away from her." Kyle said, making me flinch before a glare of my own appeared on my face. "You can start by asking me." I snarled, making everyone in the backyard jump at the sudden hostile voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. As Stan and Kyle looked around for me, I leapt from the roof of the treehouse and landed on the ground next to them with a solid 'thump'. "S-Saphira! Holy shit dude, you scared us." Stan stuttered as both of them recovered from their mini heart attacks. "Yeah, I have that effect on people: I just never expected to see it come from YOU, Kyle." I said, venom leaking from every word as the boy's face in question became regretful.

"Saphira look…it's nothing personal, it's just: what you did to Cartman…" he couldn't even finish, making me sigh in irritation before staring him in the eye with a steely gaze. "How strong is your faith Kyle?" I questioned as his face became confused. "What?" he asked, glancing at Stan to make sure he heard what I had said correctly. "I said, how strong is your faith?" I asked again, making Stan gulp as Kyle finally understood what was being asked of him. "W-Well, I am Jewish so…pretty strong I guess." he said as I stared at him: making absolutely sure he spoke nothing but the truth. "Good. Now, is there a place the three of us could speak privately? I need to show you something." I said as the two boys glanced at each other before staring at me again.

"Why not right here? Everybody else is doing what they're supposed to do." Stan said as I shook my head at that idea. "I need a computer." I said as Kyle sighed before gesturing for me and Stan to follow him into his house. Following him up to his room, I reached into my pocket and felt the object I had managed to snag from one of the Commanders before my parents snuck me out of Miami. "Well, this is it: now what is it you needed to talk to us about?" Kyle said as I gulped nervously before gathering my courage and griped the object in my pocket tightly.

"First, know that I'm not here to hurt anyone. Second, what I'm about to explain to you guys is SUPER Top Secret: like beyond the pentagon and FBI type shit. And third: I'm only telling you this because I trust you, I have only told ONE other person and that's Mysterion. DON'T make me regret doing this, do you both understand? Not even Mysterion has seen this." I explained as they both gulped before reluctantly nodding as I pulled out the USB drive out of my pocket.

"A USB?" Stan asked as I nodded seriously before turning to Kyle. "What is on this chip, is something many people will kill for. It explains everything: what happened to me, why the people behind it did it, and how it came to be. I'm only showing this to you because you're the smartest kid in class and has actually treated me like a friend regardless of how the other kids have. But I warn you: once you see what is on this chip: you will NEVER look at the military or science class the same way again." I said as his eyes widened at my words before taking the USB from me with a shaking hand.

"Please tell us this is all one big joke, part of the game…right?" Stan questioned fearfully, gripping the back of Kyle's chair like a vice when I shook my head at his question. As Kyle put the USB in the computer, I griped my arms in a tight self-hug before turning to look out the window: VERY aware of what was on that little device. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Blackwatch emblem as well as an 'initializing' status as the program loaded. "Is this some kind of computer game?" Kyle asked as the emblem spun around on the screen. "Just watch." I said as the program began its created purpose.

"Gentlemen: Welcome to Blackwatch: the most elite military unit in the world. You are now privileged to the following classified information." the monotonous female voice of the Blackwatch command unit known as Red Crown began. "Holy shit dude! This is some high-tech government stuff, how did you even-" Kyle started as he whirled around to look at me, only to have me turn my gaze out the window as I tried to block out her poisonous voice. "Keep watching." I said emotionlessly as Red Crown continued. "Blackwatch was first created to protect America from biological attack. In 1963, our new weaponized virus known as Blacklight, infected and destroyed the town of Hope, Idaho." Red Crown said from the speakers as both the sounds of military gunfire and the screams of the infected accompanied the monotone voice.

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck are those?!" Stan shouted as I tightened my grip on my arms to keep myself from reliving the memories I was cursed with. "We found and detained only one survivor: Elizabeth Greene, or 'Mother' as we would come to call her. She was an incubator and producer of the virus. Blackwatch, along with Gentek: the creators of Blacklight, were assigned to contain the virus: peacefully if possible." the voice continued as I fought to hold back the virus from destroying that infernal USB. "What a load of fucking bullshit." I snarled quietly as I glanced behind me, to find both of the boys engrossed in what was happening on the screen as Blackwatch soldiers slayed groups of infected humans: their screeching loud and painful in my ears.

"Operations continued until 2010, where a child by the name of Saphira MacManus was given to Gentek for Blacklight testing. After showing resistance to the Blacklight virus, we injected it into her system directly: sending her into a state of catatonic anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We thought the virus had killed her: we were wrong, it transformed MacManus: giving her superhuman abilities." Red Crown explained as images and video clips of some of my abilities appeared on the screen, while the boys witnessing the data began shaking and stuttering as they tried to comprehend what exactly was going on, turning from the computer to me every so often: as if to make sure I was the same kid they saw on the screen.

"MacManus fought her way into Gentek and freed another test subject by the name of Alex MacManus. We don't know if they're related, or not: but since the attack on Gentek headquarters, both subjects have vanished: only to be discovered soon after. Nothing we did could contain MacManus, we resorted to a nuclear solution but MacManus interfered with our objective. She hijacked the nuke and destroyed it over the ocean: we assumed she was dead. Once again, we were wrong: and once again both of the test subjects have vanished. We don't know if she had infected him, or not: regardless, they both need to be captured or destroyed. Only the most highly-trained among you will be sent in to eliminate the threat. Remember, you are Blackwatch: You. WILL. Not. Fail. Dismissed!" Red Crown ordered before the connection was severed: signaling the end of the recording.

For several minutes, there was absolute silence as Stan and Kyle stared at each other as I bit down on my lip while I stared out the window. 'No going back now, I'm as good as dead anyway: may as well warn people of the oncoming destruction.' I thought as I glanced at them from the corner of my eye. Stan was frozen on the spot: the back of the chair locked in his white-knuckled grip as he trembled in pure fear. Kyle looked like a leaf in a hurricane as a large stain appeared on his lap: proving he pissed himself, making me feel sorry for both of them, I didn't regret showing them anything however.

"I think that's all the proof you need. I know I'm a monster so don't bother playing the same tune by letting me know that. Despite what that bitch just said: I have never killed kids, only the soldiers and scientists that were a threat to me and my brother. Now if you'll excuse me: I need to pack my stuff and get my brother before those fuckers show up again." I said, snapping both of them out of it as Stan's face paled to an unhealthy shade of gray.

"A-Again?" he stuttered as I looked him in the eye before nodding once. "Have you two seen the news? That was no 'Taco Bell' the military is covering up." I said as I walked out of Kyle's room and began walking down the stairs, stopping at the bottom step as Kyle tossed the USB back to me like it was covered in diseases.

"T-Then what is it?" Kyle squeaked as they both followed me on shaky legs. "You're a smart kid Kyle: figure it out." I said as I went back outside and into Kyle's backyard. Looking around the elven kingdom, the sudden realization hit me so hard that I physically almost tripped: I couldn't leave! Not when they already showed up and started the first of their many sick 'tests' that will result in every last person dying or worse: becoming like me.


	36. Chapter 36

As soon as the blonde elf that had led the first attack on Kupa Keep and brought me here the first time noticed me, he let out a strangled cry: drawing the attention of everyone else to me. "Welcome back Savior! I hope those filthy humans have treated you well." he said as he and the rest of the elves knelt at my feet like I was some kind of royalty. Glancing behind me, I saw Stan and Kyle slowly starting to get over what they have just witnessed and get back into their characters. "I have a question to ask." I said as I turned my attention back to the lead elf at my feet. "Anything my lady! Just say the word!" he said as he stood up and bowed his head at me.

"You guys haven't taken The Stick have you?" I asked as he became confused with my question. "The Stick? No, I thought the humans had it. Are you saying…you LOST The Stick of Truth?!" he suddenly yelled as all the elves became enraged and started shouting at me. "The humans had it, but this morning it was gone: someone had taken it. Eric thinks it was you guys that did it." I explained as Kyle came up behind me with Stan on my other side.

"We don't have it, we were just planning on how to take it back from the humans when you showed up. Wizard fatass is lying! He hid The Stick and is acting all sad and betrayed so you and your brother can recruit more people for him. He told you to recruit the Goths right? Go recruit them, but bring them to us: so we can raid his stupid kingdom and end this once and for all!" Kyle said as he got back into his character, I could still see they were both still in shock though: not that I honestly blamed them.

"He doesn't have it either, believe me: I can tell when someone is lying, and he was truthful the entire time. I think there is something bigger going on here, see what you guys can find while I go make sure Alex didn't get himself beat up again." I said as the elf king hesitated, but nodded skeptically as I walked past the kneeling elves and over to the back gate. "Savior wait! Before you go: take this." an elf wearing red armor called, making me stop and turn to face him. In his hands was a staff like Eric's: it was about the same size, only this one had a Taser attached to the end, making it glow bright-blue and spit sparks with every swing I made. "Holy shit! This is cool." I said with a large grin as I tested out my new weapon: loving the sparks and electric humming coming from it.

"It's called The Staff of Smiting, consider it a gift from the Elf King." the elf said as I looked over at Kyle, only to see him nod with a smirk on his face. "Thanks Kyle, see you guys soon." I said as I held my new weapon out in front of me and headed out of the backyard. 'I can't believe I actually almost left and abandoned my family and new friends to their fate! What would Mysterion say?!' I thought as I punched myself in the helmet before dashing across the street and up the tree in my backyard. Peeking in the window, I saw that Mysterion hadn't moved and was still asleep: making me nervous but at least he wasn't howling like a banshee anymore. Jumping down in the snow, I made my way down the sidewalk and in the direction of the school, only to run into Butters along the way.

"Oh h-hey Saphira! Wh-What's happenin'?" the paladin asked, making me grin at his happy-go-lucky attitude: a welcome change from all the misery that was floating around this morning. "Looking for Alex Butters, Eric sent him to the school to recruit the Goth kids. Hey…have you seen Kenny? I haven't seen him all day." I said as Butters played nervously with his hands before meeting my gaze. "H-He said he had to go m-meet family in Denver, he wouldn't say when he'll be back." Butters said as I frowned for a minute before grinning at the timid boy again.

"Oh well, I hope he has fun and hope he texts me later, see you around Butters." I said as we parted ways: him heading into the kingdom while I headed closer to the school that had just barely entered my sight. 'He could've at least texted me and let me know he was leaving, but then again: his phone probably either died or it was a last-minute thing.' I thought as I looked for cars before crossing the street and over to the school, where Alex stood nervously next to the front doors. "Hey little brother." I said as he jumped about three feet in the air before realizing it was just me.

"O-Oh! H-Hey sis." he muttered as he kicked a small trench in the snow. "Something wrong?" I asked as he glanced up at me with a troubled expression in his eyes. "The Goth kids won't join us unless I look and act like them." he said as he looked at his snow-covered boots in shame. "Okay?" I said, confused as to why he would be ashamed of that before it dawned on me: Alex had never done things on his own before. He was always told how to feel, act and be by my father and the scientists that held him prisoner, he didn't know HOW to be his own person. "T-They said the only way for them to join is if I dress like them, drink coffee and smoke with them." he said, making my theory fly out the window as my vision turned orange for a split-second at the thought of those kids forcing my baby brother to smoke.

"They what?!" I snapped, making him flinch away from me and duck behind the flagpole as I huffed and stormed through the gate and over to the three dark-clothed kids sitting next to one of the side-exits of the school. Walking up to the three kids, I saw one of them had red and black hair that flopped over the right side of his face, dark-gray clothes and purple shoes. Peeking around him, I saw a kid no older than five or so fiddling with a radio while a large girl in a black dress sat smoking. On the stairs near her was a tall boy dressed in black and white: also smoking.

Staring harshly at them, I waited until one of them noticed I was there: which wasn't long considering I was standing right next to the one with red and black hair. As he glanced at me, I could almost FEEL the disgust wafting off him as he looked me up and down before the girl also took notice of me. "Who's that?" he asked as the girl looked me over before taking a drag off her cigarette. "I think it's that New Kid people are taking about." she said in an I-don't-give-a-shit voice as the first Goth kid looked at me again. "This is a different one, so: there are two New Kids?" he questioned, making me upset that they spoke as if I wasn't standing right next to them. "I'm his sister, and I hear you won't join in our game unless he SMOKES with you." I growled, making all four of them glance at me.

"If he wants us to hang out with him, he needs to look EXACTLY like we do in order to prove he isn't a conformist." the tallest of the kids said from his spot on the stairs, making me suddenly have an idea. "If I dressed like you, would you join us?" I asked, making the one with red and black hair raise an eyebrow at me. "Tell you what New Kid, prove your individuality and that you aren't a conformist, then MAYBE we'll consider hanging out with you." he said, making a devious smirk appear under my helmet before I shrugged and walked past the one on the stairs and into the school. 'Now, time for some payback.' I thought with a sneer as I took the bottle of Liquid Ass out of my pocket and held it tight as I searched for Wendy's locker: keeping out of sight of the cameras as I did so.

Coming across the locker in question, I used the bobby pins in my hair to pick the lock and get the small metal door open. Inside was a typical girly-girl's locker: mirror, make-up, perfume and small posters of boys. With a Cheshire grin, I took the bottle of perfume used most often before dumping half of it down the drain of the nearby water fountain. Once that was done, I held my breath and unscrewed the lid of the Liquid Ass before spilling the contents inside the perfume bottle. Once the two liquids were thoroughly mixed together, I put the perfume bottle back where I found it before I took a dozen or so valentine envelopes from my pocket and placed them in different boys' lockers.

'He-He…once the boys find those 'Love Letters' her life will be hell.' I thought evilly before I shut the locker and replaced the lock: making it look as if nothing had happened. Stepping into the girl's bathroom, I used the biomass to let my body suit show itself as I took in my appearance in the mirror. 'Not bad, but wait…what's that?' I thought as I spotted an air vent in the ceiling. Feeling a light bulb go off in my brain, I carefully measured myself and found I could easily fit inside the hidden space. Changing my right arm into the Whipfist, I carefully unscrewed the screws holding the vent in place: leaving it to appear as if it was still attached to its frame. Satisfied for now, I changed my arm back before heading out of the bathroom and back in the direction of the Goth kids.

"Is this acceptable?" I questioned, catching their attention as they stared at me with approval. "Oh joy, its Butthole the Barbarian from the Dungeons of Dumbass." the one on the stairs said, making me puff up in anger at the insult. "You got to admit she looks better, nice glow effect on those clothes: I'll give you that much." the one with red and black hair said as he flicked his bangs from his face.

"Yeah, she's ALMOST a Goth." the girl said as she took another drag off her cigarette while the tallest one sighed in annoyance: as if my very presence was a bother to him, not like it wasn't anything new to me. "Being Goth isn't just how you dress: it's a frame of MIND. Its time you prove you go against societies' rules." he said as he stared at my glowing body suit before standing from his spot: making me realize he was a whole head taller than me.

"Trust me, society has nothing on me: they CAN'T control me. You want proof, fine." I said as I closed my eyes in concentration and commanded the virus to ripple up my torso in a visible wave of writhing black-cherry and red vines before becoming still again. "Whoa! New Kid, h-how did you just do that?" the tallest one asked as they all looked at me with great interest: completely throwing me off because I had thought they would be afraid of what I just did. "Let's just say it's a talent of mine. Like I said: society has NOTHING on me." I said as the four of them quickly huddled up: whispering quickly, discussing what they had just seen amongst themselves.

After a few minutes they separated, leaving the boy with red and black hair to walk up to me and poke at my body suit, as well as tug on the fabric wings and tails. "These are some pretty Goth clothes New Kid, where did you get them?" he asked, making me raise an eyebrow at the girlish question. "I made them." I said, which wasn't entirely untrue: but they didn't need to know that. "You made those? Damn, and I thought I was pretty Goth: alright New Kid, we'll join your game. Just tell us where to go and we'll meet you there." the girl said as I handed her the directions to Eric's house before nodding goodbye to them as I went back out the gate: quickly changing myself back into my KKK armor before anyone else could see me.

"Well? What did they say?" Alex said as he jogged up to me, adjusting his slightly-too-big Thief hood as it drooped in front of his face. "They'll join us, now let's get back to the kingdom." I said as we both made our way back to Eric's house so I could tell him about the Goth kids and what I found out about The Stick. During the silent walk back, my thoughts suddenly made me question something: if Eric doesn't have The Stick, and the elves don't have it…who does?


	37. Chapter 37

About halfway over to Eric's house my phone went off, letting me know I had a text from somebody. Pulling out my phone, I saw it was a message from my mom telling me that she went ahead and picked up Morphine and bandages from the hospital. She also said she was home and knew I was out but wouldn't tell my dad anything: saying how she knew how stupid it was to ground the only person that could possibly stand up to Blackwatch.

Texting her back, I thanked her before I asked her if she could watch over Mysterion and let me know when he woke up as Alex and I reentered Eric's backyard and approached the Grand Wizard. As Eric spoke with Butters, I got a reply back from mom saying that she would: making me happy that I didn't have to worry about him freaking out when he saw he was in a strange place by himself. 'Because he would do the same for me.' I assured myself as I nodded to get Eric's attention once Butters walked away. "Ah Lady MacManus is back, what secrets do those fucking cheaters have?" he asked as Alex was called away by Craig so he could train some more.

"They don't have The Stick, I searched their entire base for it but couldn't find it anywhere." I lied, mainly because if Eric found out that I was working with BOTH factions: he would label me a traitor: something I didn't want. "They must've hidden it somewhere! We recently intercepted a Carrier Raven that had a message saying something about a PTA meeting at the Community Center. That MUST be where they took The Stick! MacManus, I want you to infiltrate that meeting and find that Stick: we can't have the relic fall into enemy hands!" he ordered as I once again left his backyard on my own: which was okay considering I knew right where I was going thanks to my…nightly activities.

Taking off in a run, I held The Staff of Smiting like a baseball bat as I bolted down side-streets and alleys that Mysterion showed me: getting to the Community Center in record time for a fourth grader. Slowing my pace down to a walk, I frowned under my helmet at the sounds of multiple angry adults echoing loudly from inside. Quietly opening the door, I saw the entire center was filled with angry parents protesting loudly at Principle Victoria, Mr. Mackey, Mr. Garrison and a few parents I didn't recognize: not that it was any fault of mine.

Gulping nervously, I glanced around the room for my dad and thankfully, didn't see him anywhere as I walked up the aisle of chairs before coming to a stop at the front of the meeting. 'If only my Sonar worked on inanimate objects.' I thought sourly, as that would help me find The Stick no problem. I was snapped out of my thoughts by one of the parents as he stood up from his seat and started throwing his arms around in anger.

Getting a closer look at him, I saw he was dressed in a gray jacket, a blue shirt under that with dark-green pants. Looking up, I saw he had a magenta hat that Jewish people commonly wear on his balding head: making me realize this had to be Kyle's dad. "It isn't RIGHT, I tell you! Out of NOWHERE this HUGE Taco Bell is being built, and now our CHILDREN are missing precious school time!" he yelled, causing the rest of the parents in the room to erupt in an uproar.

"Parents, we've been assured by the builders that they're working to fix whatever problems they've encountered and school should be able to resume soon." Principal Victoria said as she stood up so everyone could see her, making me silently curse and rage at the fact that because school is closed: I wouldn't be able to get revenge on Wendy. 'Yeah, because the building of a restaurant TOTALLY closes down school and businesses.' I thought with a roll of my eyes as a man in a light-blue shirt stood up. Looking at him, I saw he had shaggy black hair as well as a black mustache. As I took in this man, I felt that there was something about him: something these other adults severely lacked.

Before I could analyze him further, a man wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt, white tie and blue jeans stood up on my left. "Resume SOON?! Who do they think they are?! They think were gonna see a-a Taco Bell as being more important than our kids' educations?!" he exclaimed, causing another uproar among the parents around me. 'No, of course not.' I thought sarcastically as I fought the urge to face-palm at the lack of common sense here. "What if it's not REALLY a Taco Bell we're dealing with?" the man I had my eye on earlier suddenly questioned, rendering the entire room silent.

'Could it be? An adult with a brain?' I thought skeptically as he looked down and spotted me with this odd look: as if he expected me to be there when I was. "Thanks for coming, New Kid. Your younger brother told me about you." he said, making me wonder how Alex knew him but didn't want to draw attention to it right then. "Everyone, this is the sister of the kid whose family just moved to town. Her brother and I have become very close friends, her name is…what's your name?" he asked me, making me want to face-palm again but I didn't as I shifted on my feet once I saw everyone staring at me. "Saphira MacManus." I said, as he nodded at me with an almost over-the-top grin on his face.

"Her name is Saphira MacManus, and her brother and I witnessed something last night. I'd like you to hear his story: but he isn't here. What he and I witnessed is something incredible…too bad he isn't here to tell this amazing tale." he said, making a quiet hiss escape my lips as I tensed in fear. 'He couldn't have seen…there's NO way!' I panicked as I rapidly glanced around the room for a way out of this suffocating room as the man to my left began yelling again. "This is a waste of everyone's time! If the PTA isn't going to do something about Taco Bell taking over then the rest of us parents will!" he yelled as everyone in the room stood up and angrily stormed outside yelling things like 'That's right' or 'Let's go' before nothing but knocked-over chairs were left from the angry meeting.

'Yeah…good luck with that. With sense like yours, you will most definitely need it.' I thought as I shook my head at the amount of stupidity coming from the adults. Once everyone was gone, Mr. Garrison sighed before picking up a broom and began sweeping: paying no attention to me as I walked past him and over to the man in the light-blue shirt as he texted on his phone. "Sorry about putting you in the spotlight like that. I'm Randy, and I want to help: I saw your brother on the ship and he has pretty good control over his farts. I saw the helicopter too: something big is going on here, we need to get inside that 'Taco Bell' and find out what's really going on. Help me with that, and I'll help you find what you're looking for. Deal?" Randy said, making me almost drop my weapon: Alex was on the UFO when it crashed! This man saw him AND the Blackwatch chopper, meaning he also probably saw me fighting the Hunter too.

'My baby brother was on that thing, and I had no idea! I'm such a horrible sister!' I thought as I fought not to cry as I nodded, agreeing to help Randy before Alex walked inside the building: making me turn away from him in shame. I couldn't bear to look at him as I wordlessly turned from both of them and headed back outside where surprisingly: Stan stood waiting for me. "Stan? What are you doing here?" I asked, confused that he was standing in front of me and not at the Elven Kingdom.

"Kyle sent me, he feels horrible about doubting you: said he couldn't believe he stabbed you in the back like that when you gave us no reason to hate you. And what you showed us…we're really sorry that happened to you and don't think you're a monster just because you can do those things. What I'm trying to say is…we're glad you're our friend: even Cartman, though the fatass won't admit it." he said sheepishly as he played with his sword, only to drop it on the sidewalk as I tackled him in a bear-hug.

"Thank you Stan, really: you don't know how happy that makes me. Despite everything I am: you guys still want to be friends with me, because of that I know that I'll never have better friends than you guys." I said with a sniff as I let him go before sharing that same random handshake with him that neither of us really knew what we were doing. "Don't mention it Saphira, so: where to?" he asked as he fixed his red and blue helmet before picking up his sword. "Wait, you're coming with me?" I asked as he nodded with a shrug. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do and the elves get boring after a while." he said as we started walking in the direction of the mall.

"Ever consider joining the humans?" I said, half joking/half serious, sticking my tongue out at the deadpanned look on his face. "Never happening." he answered as he bopped me in the helmet with his sword. "Fair enough, I tried." I said as we entered the parking lot of the mall, where the down chopper and UFO still sat barely-covered on top of the remains of the mall. From the sidewalk, we saw a bunch of people being held back by military and government officials as helicopters continued to lay extremely small tarps over the ship.

As I peeked between the gaps in the crowd, I saw several people in yellow hazmat suits: making a chill run down my spine as a man near me dropped to the ground with a single bullet hole in his skull. 'Sniper!' I thought with wide eyes as I used my Sonar to find out where he was: to see him hiding on the roof of a nearby building. Backing up a couple steps, I saw that the crowd either didn't pay attention or didn't care about the suddenly-dead man as they walked away normally after a government official said something to them.

Once they were gone, I watched as the soldiers and hazmat guys continued their business: leaving only two soldiers to guard the front gate. "So, any idea on how to get in?" Stan asked as I rubbed my chin, only to snap my fingers in a sudden idea. "Follow me." I said as I walked down the sidewalk like I was going elsewhere before taking a sharp left and hid behind one of the convoy vehicles. Glancing around to the soldiers, I picked up a loose piece of cement and threw it at a nearby vehicle: setting off the alarm and drew in the curious soldiers.

Nudging Stan, we quickly and quietly ran past them and through the gate before ducking behind cover again. "Holy shit! How stupid can you be?" I questioned as we shared a look before sneaking past another soldier and into a vent in one of the portable buildings that was big enough for us to fit into: unsure of what we would find, but more than ready to face it head-on…whatever it may be.


	38. Chapter 38

Crawling through the cramped and dusty vent, it wasn't long before I began hearing voices nearby, making me halt before I was suddenly bumped into by Stan. "What's the hold up?" he asked as I looked down both ends of the 'fork in the road'. "Shh!" I hissed at him before turning right and quietly opened the flaps of a closed vent: exposing a meeting I was positive nobody was supposed to know about.

"…but so far we've been unable to stop the UFO from leaking the toxic waste. We've contained all we can, but there are no guarantees an outbreak will not occur." a man with dark-blonde hair said to the rest of the people at the meeting, causing a number of arguments until one man in particular spoke up. This one was tall with white hair and an eye patch over his right eye, and it wasn't until he turned his head to look at the man who spoke first, did I know who he was. 'Christ no! What the FUCK is HE doing here?!' I panicked as Stan took this opportunity to peek through the vent to see what was going on.

"And does the alien liquid appear to have the same effect as…the virus?" he questioned before the blonde nodded with a gulp. "I'm afraid so, when the alien waste comes into contact with organic matter…it turns those living things into…Nazi Zombies. I'd hate to think what would happen if it came into contact with the Blacklight virus." one of the other government agents said as the white-haired one stood up and walked over to a holding cell at the side of the room. At the mention of the virus, I chomped down on my lip as Stan looked over at me in concern before looking back through the vent.

Inside the holding cell was a man in a blue Hawaiian shirt and khakis. On his left arm was a red band with a black Swastika on it as he paced back and forth in front of the glass window. His skin was ashen and his eyes were sunken in his skull: making him look as if he had been dead for at least a week. It wasn't until he suddenly raised his left arm and said something: that dark-red blood dribbled out from between his teeth. 'Great, as if Blackwatch and Gentek weren't bad enough.' I thought as Stan stared at the Nazi in the cell with a fearful expression on his face.

"God damnit, I am SO tired of Nazi Zombies. It's so overused it's sickening: what of the PROTOTYPE?" my enemy questioned as he stared at the zombie in the cell, unaware I was glaring at them with bared teeth: making me look like a rabid dog. "What's he talking about? Saphira?" Stan whispered, on the verge of freaking out as he saw the snarl on my face that was accompanied by my glowing orange eyes. "We have been unable to locate her sir. Saphira MacManus is a slippery snake, but I assure you that Blackwatch and Gentek will be here to collect their problem within the week." a female agent said, making it extremely hard for me not to rip apart this vent and turn every single one of them into applesauce.

If Stan wasn't right next to me and holding me back: this room would have a brand-new paintjob. "If the wrong person gets ahold of either of those substances: it would spread and then we'd have a big problem." the first agent said from his seat: oblivious to the glowing eyes peering at all of them from the dark vent. "The PROTOTYPE isn't a SHE: it is an IT and here's how we're going to clean up this mess: we're going to blow up EVERYTHING within a three block radius: killing all the Nazi Zombies and hopefully Gentek's freak monster too." the head agent said as he drew a circle around a drawing of the town: showing how much of the town should be destroyed.

"Find locations for the bombs, bury it all, plant bait for the PROTOTYPE and detonate the explosives. Once that's done, make up a fake story about an earthquake, we can contain the outbreak if we act quickly enough. LET'S MOVE PEOPLE! The longer we wait, the stronger the creature gets." he ordered as all the people stood from their seats and rushed out of the room until only one agent remained in the room. "Everything we just talked about has been recorded on this tape. I'm going to leave it alone for a few minutes then have it encrypted and hidden away so nobody knows what was said in this meeting." he said as he too left the room: leaving Stan and I to sit in the vent in shock.

Ignoring the shell-shocked look on his face, I called a single tendril from my hidden body suit: much to Stan's horror as he stared at the black-cherry and glowing red tendril as the serrated Xeno tail thrashed about the cramped space. Focusing on the tape, I mentally ordered the tendril to slip between the slats in the vent, creep over to the table and grab the tape before returning to me and disappearing. "We got what we need, let's go." I said shortly as I put the tape in my pocket before squeezing past him and headed back the way we came, not really caring if he followed or not.

A few seconds later, I heard the quiet 'thumping' of Stan following me through the vent as I turned a corner and came to a stop in front of a hatch I opened in order to get out of the uncomfortable space. Poking my head out of the open hatch, I spotted a couple soldiers dressed in S.W.A.T gear standing guard outside the door to the meeting room. The longer I stared at the two unsuspecting soldiers, the more I longed to show them what fear really was, but was I going to do that: no. Motioning for Stan to stay put, I jumped silently out of the vent and prepared to take them out, only to jump back away from the door as the zombie that had been contained ripped through the doors.

At the sound of the metal doors being ripped apart, both soldiers turned around with their assault rifles raised. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" one of them yelled as the zombie staggered forward with a hungry snarl. "IT'S BROKEN FREE!" the other yelled as the zombie raised its right arm and screeched a war-cry in German: basically saying 'I'm going to rip open your skull and eat your brains like noodles' before it effortlessly picked up one of the soldiers and tore him in half: sending everything in his body to spill onto the floor with a disgusting 'plop'.

As the other tried to escape, he was yanked backwards as the zombie thrust its fist through the soldier's back and exiting through his chest: showing him his still-beating heart before he dropped dead. 'Damn, talk about a Fatality: must be a zombie-version of Kano.' I mused, mentally scolding myself for thinking of Mortal Kombat at a time like this as the zombie turned around and noticed me. "Well shit." I said as Stan jumped out of the vent and drew his sword as I readied my staff. 'What the hell is it with men and not listening?' I wondered with a shake of my head before smirking evilly at the zombie as it prepared to lunge.

"Let's go, dude." Stan said as the Nazi repeated the same phrase as earlier: making me suspect that whatever changed this man had limited speech, which was perfectly fine by me. "Ready when you are." I replied as I carefully analyzed the undead in front of me: trying to find its strengths and weaknesses as I waited for an opportunity to attack. Charging the Taser on my staff, I ran forward and jabbed it right into the zombie's stomach: loving the electric sound and the screech of pain.

Backing up, I watched as Stan took his turn, but instead of stabbing the zombie like I had: he jumped up and slashed it down the middle, doing more damage to it than I did. "Show off." I grumbled as he laughed before the zombie snarled and charged at me. Raising its foot, it sent a simple half-assed kick my way, making a mocking laugh escape my mouth as I shook my head at it in disappointment. "Really? Really, that's ALL you got Mr. Zombie? Alright then." I said before I ran forward, jumped in the air, and swung my staff down on the zombie's head, making it stagger backwards and fall on the floor.

"Holy shit, nice!" Stan said as the zombie crawled back to its feet. "I try." I said as I let him take his turn. Instead of doing a flashy attack like last time, Stan settled for a simple stab: rendering the zombie to split into pieces on the floor. "That coulda sucked a lot worse." he said as he spun his sword around before letting rest over his shoulder. Navigating around the messy and rotting pieces of the zombie and the corpses of the soldiers, Stan and I headed down the hallway and slipped out the door that led outside.

"This secret government building sure is boring." Stan said as I nodded in agreement as I placed the tape safely under my helmet after deciding my pocket wasn't safe enough. "Try living in one for four years." I said dryly before leading Stan back outside: only to stop short as I saw that all the soldiers and hazmat guys from earlier had become Nazi Zombies too. "Shit. We can't fight all of them, let's go around and sneak past them." I suggested quietly as I led him back the way we came: out of the sight of the zombies munching on corpses of both soldiers and civilians.

Once we were safely past them, I crouched down in front of Stan, who looked at me in confusion. "Get on." I said, answering his unasked question as I prepared to give him a piggyback ride. "You sure you can carry me?" he asked skeptically, only to shrug and do as I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Hold on." I said as he got situated to where he wouldn't fall off before taking my advice and held on to my shoulder plates tightly as well as his sword equally as tightly. Standing up, I sighed before taking off full-sprint for the Community Center: smiling at Stan's whoops and surprised hollers as I ran faster than a speeding car.

Taking a sharp right, I jumped clear over a parked truck and landed soundly on the steps of our destination. "Holy fuck dude! That was awesome, you should totally try out for our Track Team!" Stan said as he fixed his hair before putting his helmet back on. "No thanks, I'm good." I said as Stan bid me farewell with a grin and headed back to the elven kingdom, leaving me to enter the Community Center and show Randy what I found, while trying to come up with a plan on how to take care of not only Gentek and Blackwatch: but this new zombie plague at the same time.


	39. Chapter 39

Walking inside the Community Center, I saw Principal Victoria, Mr. Garrison, Randy, and the other two parents I didn't recognize from before still sitting at the table in the front of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Mr. Mackey sleeping at a VERY cluttered desk, making me wonder how long it took him to make that mess. Shrugging it off, I approached the front of the room and waited patiently for one of the parents to notice me, which didn't take very long as Randy stood up and walked over to me.

"You're back! Did you find anything?" he asked as I pulled out the tape and handed it to him before turning away: trying not to be sick at the information gathered on that tiny device. "What's this? It's a recording! And there's data on here!" he said, drawing the attention of the rest of the adults as they leaned in to hear what was on the tape, oblivious to my anxious and nervous antics that made me look like Tweek. "Well, what does it say? What kind of Taco Bell is it going to be?" Principal Victoria asked as I bit down on my knuckles to keep myself from running out of the building as Randy pushed the replay button.

"The PROTOTYPE isn't a SHE: it is an IT and here's how we're going to clean up this mess: we're going to blow up EVERYTHING within a three block radius: killing all the Nazi Zombies and hopefully Gentek's freak monster too. Find locations for the bombs, bury it all, plant bait for the PROTOTYPE and detonate the explosives. Once that's done, make up a fake story about an earthquake." the voice of the head government agent said from the tape, making me flinch suddenly as blood started soaking through the leather of my glove: making me realize I had bitten myself harder than I thought.

And that didn't help my situation as I glanced up at the adults: to find every one of them frozen in disbelief as Randy walked around the table and stood next to me. "They're just…gonna blow up three blocks? And what is this PROTOTYPE they were talking about?! And what are Gentek and Nazi Zombies?" Principal Victoria questioned nervously as the adults looked to Randy for answers I knew he didn't have. "Sons of bitches, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" he yelled, making me sigh and a headache form itself behind my eyeballs from all the stress this situation was causing me.

These people weren't supposed to know ANYTHING about my past, and now: they got curious and are in just as deep as my family which was more MY fault than anything. "What gives them the right?!" Mr. Garrison asked from his seat as I took a deep breath and crossed my arms in a self-hug to stop myself from shaking. "They're military: they can do what they want, whenever they want and however they want. Your word means nothing to them and there's nothing you can do about it." I said, drawing the attention of the adults for a second before they started questioning each other.

"I KNEW there was more to this, it's not a simple Taco Bell we're dealing with: but the most massive one EVER BUILT! You see, ever since the Doritos Locos Tacos thing: Taco Bell thinks they can do whatever they want! This 'PROTOTYPE' must be the building before the Taco Bell is constructed: ingenious!" Randy explained, making my earlier observation of him actually being smart fly out the window. "Are you all FUCKING STUPID?!" I yelled, finally having enough of their stupidity and lack of intelligence.

"Young Lady! How DARE you use such vulgar language?!" a woman with large red hair gasped as the rest of the adults looked at me in shock, not that I gave two shits at this point. "How can ANY of you think that they're building a Taco Bell?! They DON'T close school or businesses when building a restaurant! Don't any of you UNDERSTAND: it's a military cover-up to keep idiots like YOU from snooping in their business! I saw I guy get fucking SNIPED for asking questions! What construction worker does that?! Certainly not where I come from: use your brains for once and look at the bigger picture before it's too late!" I snapped harshly as I tried to get them to understand that this wasn't what they were told to believe.

"Saphira: having a big imagination like yours is normal for a kid your age, but try to keep it under control, M'kay?" Mr. Mackey said as the rest of the adults agreed, making a roar of frustration rip its way out of my chest as I fought to keep my body suit and the virus from showing up. "It looks like Taco Bell wants to replace our mall to add to their power: as if taking up three blocks of the town wasn't bad enough." Randy continued, making tears of anger flow down my face at the unbelievable amount of idiocy and lack of common sense as my warning blew right over their heads like a leaf in the breeze. "Well not here, not in our town." Principal Victoria said angrily from her seat as I growled before storming out of the building and started heading home: kicking up snow and ice as I did so.

'They don't believe me! Well guess what you stupid morons: once Blackwatch shows up with more of their "pets" maybe just MAYBE you'll believe me as you're getting your faces ripped into.' I thought as I continued walking down sidewalks and streets: passing groups of elves challenging me to fights I really didn't want to get into at the moment. It wasn't until I was about halfway home did I freeze on the spot as a sudden 'droning' noise caught my sensitive ears. Focusing on the sound, I realized with numb horror that the sound was coming from military vehicles: very HEAVY DUTY military vehicles. Holding my breath, I waited until they turned into the crash site before turning around and taking off in a full-sprint for Eric's house.

Taking a different route this time, I made sure to lose any pursuers before finally coming to a stop in front of Eric's back gate. Calming my racing nerves, I walked through the open gate and approached Eric as he spoke with the Goth kids near the tent. Nodding a greeting to Butters and Tweek, I turned my gaze to Alex as he trained with Crag: impressed he was actually talking back and asking questions now. "Ah Lady MacManus is back: have you located The Stick?" Eric questioned once he got the Goth kids armed and ready: it was strange not seeing Kenny there, but we could make do without him for a little while, I think. "It wasn't there: it was obviously a decoy message to throw us off. They didn't even leave us any clues to go by: it was a complete waste of time." I said as Eric's face scrunched up before he smashed the end of his stick on the snowy ground in anger.

"You have GOT to be FUCKING kidding me! Where the fuck did they take it?!" he snarled as he angrily paced back and forth in front of the tent until he growled and walked to the middle of the yard. "Everyone gather around! While the rest of you have been picking your respective arses, Lady MacManus has gone out and brought reinforcements to our kingdom. Lady MacManus, it is time to grant you a title WORTHY of your deeds. By the power of Mandaloth: third-born of the Redguard, and the glory of Christ: I now appoint thee…COMMANDER MACMANUS! With all the rights and privileges accompanied therein!" he said as he 'knighted' me with his staff, earning me a round of applause from everyone around me.

'Commander MacManus…I like it.' I thought with a toothy grin as Butters approached and knelt in front of me and held up a new armor set with his head bowed. "Thank you Butters." I said as I took the gift and examined it. It was similar to my current armor, only the red sweater was upgraded to a blue jacket with a gold four-pointed star on the right breast pocket. The thick plastic shoulder plates had been replaced by ones made of Aluminum: making them heavier but were able to offer better protection: not that I needed it. The gloves in this set were white with a green stripe around the back of my hand and green cuffs, while the belt was made of thick and sturdy leather that still had that freshly-made smell to it.

The pants were also upgraded from cotton, to a thick brown material that was fur-lined on the inside. But it was what was sitting on top of the new clothing that caught my eye: it was a crown made from cardboard and tape with a large plastic ruby glued to the front: right above where my forehead would be. Taking the outfit from Butters, I ducked inside the tent and quickly put it on and made the necessary adjustments to it so it was good and tight. Stepping back outside, I was shocked to find the boys stepping aside and saluting respectfully as I approached Eric again, just as Butters ran up to him as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Eric! ERIC!" the paladin yelled as I stood next to the both of them. Getting the Grand Wizard's attention, Butters caught his breath before continuing with his seemingly-urgent message. "We know where the elves have taken The Stick!" he yelled, drawing the attention of everyone as Eric gave Butters his full attention.

"What?! REALLY?!" he questioned as he and I shared a glance. "We just intercepted their message on Twitter!" he continued, making Eric glare at him in annoyance. "YOU MEAN YOU SHOT DOWN THEIR MESSAGE RAVEN." he hissed though his teeth, making poor Butters quickly catch himself and repeat what he was supposed to say.

"R-Right, w-we shot down their Raven a-and the evil Elf King has hidden The Stick inside his desk at school!" Butters exclaimed, making me face-palm considering I had literally JUST been to the school and didn't think to check there. 'That's why they didn't have it at their kingdom.' I realized as Eric's face split into a pleased expression before he turned to me. "OF COURSE! Kyle hid it in his desk. CITIZENS OF KUPA KEEP, WE KNOW WHERE THE ELVES HAVE HIDDEN THE STICK!" he yelled as everyone stopped what they were doing and ran over to us.

"I TOLD YOU THEY WERE CHEATING! NOW WE SHALL MARCH ON THE SCHOOL AND MAKE THE HALLWAYS DRIP WITH ELVEN BLOOD!" he screamed in a war-cry before leading the charge out of the backyard and in the direction of the school. 'Paint the hallways with their blood? That's a bit TOO extreme for a game if you ask me.' I thought with a shrug before running after them, oblivious to a pair of eyes following my every move.


	40. Chapter 40

Catching up with the boys, I took my place next to Eric as we came to a stop at the front entrance to the school. Glancing up, I noticed the sky had turned a burgundy color the same shade as my hair as the sun set over the mountains behind the school: making me realize we didn't have very much time left to get this mission done. Walking several steps ahead of us, Eric suddenly turned around and stared at us with a determined look on his face.

"Defenders of Freedom: I thank you for your courage and your audacities in joining our fight! Tonight we are no longer the humans or the Goths: tonight we UNITE AS ONE!" he yelled at his 'army' as the tallest Goth kid messed with his horned helmet before mumbling to the red and black haired one. "I feel like such a homo sapien right now." he mumbled before our attention was snapped back to Eric as he stomped on the sidewalk, only to halt in his speech as one of the second floor windows of the school opened and an elf stuck his head out.

"THE HUMANS ARE HERE!" he yelled, causing a second window to open as another elf leaned out and blew a war-horn, making Eric nervously glance at Butters next to him. "Ooh, they blew their horn! Blow ours Butters!" he said as the paladin took out a smaller horn and blew into it: making a rather pathetic sound. "Guys! Flank left: Goth kids, attack from behind!" he said as both respective groups charged with Eric at the front, leaving me to stay behind and cast a sorrowful and apologetic look to one of the open windows: where Kyle stood with a hurt and betrayed look on his face.

'I'm sorry Kyle, but this is the only way.' I thought before I ran forward and through one of the side doors of the school: where mayhem and chaos were already taking place. Adjusting my new weapon: a two-handed broadsword with jagged edges along the blade, I glanced over at Butters as he ran to catch up and join me. Smiling at him, I looked forward and my jaw dropped: the entire hallway had looked as if it had been hit by a hurricane! The walls were cracked and broken, lights were barely holding on to their wires and the doors to some of the lockers had been ripped off to be used as shields by some of the defeated elves.

My state of awe was shattered by the PA system crackling to life as Kyle's voice echoed throughout the hallways. "Saphira, if you're in the building…you're fighting for a Tyrant! But I know there's good in you: stop fighting for your evil Lord! Free yourself of his control!" he pleaded as Butters and I navigated the absolute mess the school had become, that is until we came across somebody I didn't expect to see. "Don't go in there man! We came in through the back but they just mowed us down! LIKE DOGS MAN! All my friends are dead! OH JESUS!" Tweek spazzed with tears in his eyes, making me feel bad for the poor kid.

"Don't worry Tweek, I'll make sure they didn't 'die' in vain." I said as I gave his shoulder a pat before drawing my broadsword and walked over to the doors, passing a couple kids patching each other up before heading into the next room: only to get sprayed in the face by a water hose. Wiping the water from my face, I glared at a group of three elves as they shared a high-five. "You're not getting past us 'Savior'! Drow Elf barricades are invincible and invisible." the elf holding the hose said, saying my given title like it was poison.

Looking around, I spotted a valve that controlled the amount of water the elves used. Catching a basketball that Tweek threw at me, I tossed it into the valve: cutting off the water to the hose as a puddle appeared at their feet. "Shit! We lost pressure on the hose!" one of them hissed as the basketball bounced off the wall and back to me. Picking it back up, I took aim at a light on the ceiling before throwing it upwards: breaking the light and shocking the elves when the live wires made contact with the water.

"Yeah! You fried that motherfucker!" Butters cheered, making me look at him with a shocked expression on my face. "What?" he snapped, making me snap out of my daze with a gulp, realizing it wasn't Butters I had been staring at. "Nothing, just didn't expect to hear from you: especially without your costume." I said, making him scoff before hitting me harshly in the head with his hammer, making me flinch in pain. "You shouldn't underestimate me Saphira MacManus: especially when I hold your darkest secret." Chaos said, making me grit my teeth so tightly it hurt: the little shit was blackmailing me! Especially because he knew how it affected me, that son of a bitch.

"Whatever, let's get this done and over with so I can go home." I snapped as I walked past the 'fallen' elves, only to stop as Chaos grabbed hold of a water bottle and threw it at me: making me stumble as it hit me in the back. "So you can return to your 'Lover Boy' Mysterion?" he spat, making me whirl around with a pissed off look on my face. "Oh? Did I touch a nerve?" he questioned with a laugh, making it extremely difficult for me to NOT wring his scrawny little neck.

"He got hurt because of me: I'm repaying his sacrifice for trying to save me! That's it: nothing more, nothing less. Now let this subject go: or did you forget how your life is in my hands, Chaos? I can just as easily save your life as I can take it. Make your choice before I personally make it for you!" I snarled at his horror-stricken face before I turned away from him and headed into the next room, sneaking past another group of elves without catching their eye.

Creeping through the double doors, I watched as the rest of the boys took down every elf that stood in our way: making me feel bad because the elves trusted me, but also made me glad that the Kupa Keep Kids weren't fighting ME instead. As Chaos and I made our way past the broken barricades, the PA system crackled to life again: only this time, Kyle wasn't as forgiving as he had been before. "These are the terms of your surrender: one, you become the elves' personal slave for…" he paused as the sound of somebody moving the mic made me glace up at the speaker on the wall.

"A month." the voice of Stan said, making a huge wave of guilt crash into me before Kyle's voice returned. "One month, two: you agree that the elves become the Masters of The Stick of Truth for all of time! Three: you-" he said, only to interrupted by Stan again as he asked for the mic. "Three: your so-called 'Grand Wizard' has to jump up and down for three straight days! If he stops, he has to start over!" he said as Chaos became Butters again as we entered the basement of the school.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, I discovered that Eric was waiting there with a hallway monitor laying on the floor writhing in pain with the groans to match. "Stay back you guys! Something is seriously wrong with the hallway monitors!" Eric said with a worried look on his face as I looked behind him and took in the kid on the floor. He appeared sick as he groaned and looked like he was going to throw up, and I would have believed it: if I didn't spot the oozing bite wound on his arm.

"Shit, this isn't fucking good." I said as I cautiously approached the wounded kid as he begged for help. "What happened here?" I asked as I crouched next to him: careful to keep out of his reach in case he tried to take a bite out of me. "Don't touch him: he's Ginger!" Eric warned as the kid coughed up green fluid mixed with his blood. "We came to the school the morning after the earthquake to report for duty: we didn't know the school had been closed. We heard a noise coming from down here, this crazy guy attacked us: his bite…changed the other hallway monitors." he rasped as he gripped his torn up arm while coughing again.

"Serves you right for being a pansy-ass hallway monitor in the first place." Eric said, only to shut up once he saw the glare I threw at him before looking back at the monitor as he suddenly stood up and spazzed in a similar way Tweek does. 'This…isn't good.' I thought as I slowly stood up and got my broadsword ready, not taking my eyes off the gurgling and choking kid as he turned his back to us. By the time the kid turned back around, he had become a Nazi Zombie as he raised his right arm and repeated the same phrase as the last one I fought.

"Aghhggh! Whoever was down here made those Ginger hallway monitors even lamer!" Eric said as Butters gulped next to me before pulling his hammer from his belt. "U-Um S-Saphira…you speak G-German. W-What did he say?" he asked nervously as the zombie kid staggered towards us with bloodied teeth bared. "Do you want the PG version? Because it basically said it was going to crack open our skulls and eat our brains like Ramen." I said as I narrowed my eyes at the zombie before it let out a challenging groan.

"Oh Jesus Christ!" Butters yelped as Eric raised his stick in defense as the zombie got ready to lunge at us, only to have me smack it in the jaw with my sword, knocking it back with a squeal. Seeing his chance, Eric backed up and dashed up the stairs and out the door: abandoning us to the likes of the undead as it got back to its feet. As it raised its decaying face up, it reattached its dislocated jaw: glaring at me with a crazed look in its hollow eyes: making me wish for the hundredth time that day that I had just stayed home.


	41. Chapter 41

Dashing forward in a surprising burst of speed, the zombie kid gnashed its teeth dangerously-close to my throat, trying to tear it open before I placed my right foot on its chest and kicked it away: sending it flying against the wall. Shaking its head with a gurgle, it stood back up and pulled out a blood-covered radio.

"Schnell!" it screeched as it pointed at us, causing two more zombie kids to stumble out from under the stairs in a very 'Resident Evil' type fashion. Unlike before, these zombies carried the weapons of hallway monitors: making them even more of a pain in the ass than they were before. "Watch it Butters!" I warned as the lead zombie charged him with its flagpole: only to have Butters block against it with his hammer. "That was close!" he said as it backed off: giving one of the others a chance to attack: only to be blocked and slashed in the face by my sword.

Having enough of this, I put on a stray football helmet before running up to the lead zombie. Kicking the ground like a bull, I rammed my covered head into the zombie's stomach, making a disgusting hole appear in the decaying flesh and clothing: giving us a 'nice' view of its insides. As movement next to me caught my eye, I thought Butters was going to do what Eric did and run off, instead he returned with a sinister sneer on his face: making it clear that Chaos had decided to come into play. "Let's see how you like dealing with me!" he yelled with a psychotic laugh, making me for the first time use my imagination…and see how Professor Chaos TRULY was.

'Holy shit!' I thought as I took in my temporary 'ally' with my mind's eye: he was gigantic! Taller than my dad and built like a tank with arms as big around as a tree trunk. Around his bare feet were white bandages and his hands were covered by thick metal gauntlets that reminded me of my Hammerfist. He had no pupils in his blank, white eyes that sat behind his metal helmet: adding to the intimidation factor as he glared at the zombies at his feet. His Greek-styled costume stuck to his body like glue to paper: showing off not only his intimidating size, but the sculpted muscled underneath: making me realize that the snowman I had built of him wasn't far off from how he really saw himself.

With a smirk, he stomped a few steps forward: making the ground shake under every step before he 'defied' gravity and levitated like Superman with his arms crossed over his massive chest with his forest-green cape billowing behind him in imaginary wind. Suddenly dropping to the floor, Chaos raised his left arm, summoning a spiked hammer bigger than even him! The hammer looked like it could've been from the Middle Ages, only it was covered in yellow lightning that quickly engulfed the zombies as he smashed it down on the floor. "Humph! Maggot fodder." he grunted in disappointment as the lightning ripped the zombies apart: leaving them looking nothing more than insects after an encounter with a bug-zapper.

Seeing as they didn't get back up, I glanced up at the Lord of Chaos as he sneered at me: daring me to say something as he stared at me with ivory-white eyes. "If you think I'm afraid of you, you are sadly mistaken Chaos: and you BEST remember that the next time you threaten me!" I growled, making him laugh like the evil mastermind he was before he placed one of his huge hands on top of my head: telling me he could squish my skull with no effort at this point before letting go. As I glared at him, he wrapped his cloak around himself before I snapped out of it: changing the vision of his massive, intimidating form into the Paladin, Butters again as he did a small victory dance.

"C'mon Butters, the others need help." I said as we both entered through the door the zombie kids were guarding: only to come across a 'lava pit' of green goop: the same stuff the hall monitor coughed up before he turned into a Nazi Zombie. Nudging Butters, we climbed up a ladder that led to an upper platform that crossed over the dangerous liquid. "Eerrgghh! Schnell!" a voice snarled, making me groan at the fact that there were MORE of those zombie bastards. "I-It's probably just a lost German exchange student." Butters said, making a small grin appear on my face at his wishful thinking. Glancing over the edge of the platform, I spotted two zombie kids wandering next to a generator.

"I don't have TIME for you!" I said to them in exasperation as I looked for a way to get around them: only to snap my fingers as I spotted a vent right next to us. Pulling open the cover, I led Butters down the short tunnel before kicking another slat off the vent: sending it crashing on top of a zombie's head: taking it out as its friends looked up. Making my eyes turn orange, the other zombies quickly got the message and backed off: leaving me to jump down from the platform and catch Butters as he did the same.

"Wow-wee, look at all this green goo, what the hell is this stuff?" he asked as he reached to stick his hand in it, only to have me snatch his wrist before he could. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I said, glancing at the goo as it melted away the metal floor it was sitting on. "Jesus Christ! Thanks Saphira!" he gulped before we walked further down the hallway and entered the room up the nearby stairs that led to the gym. From the other side of a large barricade, I spotted Stan as he glared hatefully at me before raising his sword. "We're breached! Battle stations!" he yelled, drawing the attention of a group of four elves as they grabbed their weapons and prepared to fight.

Turning around, Stan took off toward a pair of catapults made from rubber bands and buckets before loading one up full of…shit. "Hey MacManus! Let's see how you like flaming dog shit!" he called, making me flinch at how he called me by my last name before he began setting the shit on fire and let the bucket go: sending the projectiles flying in our direction. "God damnit Stan! Knock it off!" I yelled as I dodged the first three shots before I had an idea. "Butters, antagonize him." I whispered to my teammate, only to sigh at his confused look.

"W-What's that mean?" he asked as we dodged another round of flaming shit. "Make him mad." I said as Butters caught on to my idea and started taunting and making faces at him: making him growl and fire faster in my direction…that just so happened to be next to the barricade. "Suck it, Stan!" Butters yelled as the elves grew horrified as the flaming shit set their barricade on fire: clearing an easy path for us to pass through. "Death to the Savior!" an elf in red armor yelled as the whole band of them charged us at the same time.

Blocking one of the elves' swords, I ran forward and brought down my broadsword, breaking the elf's helmet and knocking him down. Glaring at the one in front of him, Butters ran up to him with his hammer drawn. "By the Hammer of Butters!" he cried as he spun around with his eyes closed before letting his hammer go: hitting the elf right in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry." he apologized as the elf that had been wearing armor charged me again, only to have me pick my foot up and stomp down: sending a shockwave through the floor and taking out not only him, but the two in the back as well.

"H-Hey! You can't do that! That's cheating!" the remaining elf yelped as Butters ran at him and finished him off with a single hit that normally wouldn't do much damage. "We usually win." Butters said with a victory dance as I turned to look at Stan: whose face had turned red in anger before he pointed the end of his sword at me. "This isn't over! You hear me Saphira?! This war is NOT over!" he yelled before retreating through the double doors behind him. Turning back to Butters, I saw him open another pair of doors, letting Eric inside the gym and take in the carnage that had just taken place.

"Good job, MacManus. Man the catapult and let our men in through the front doors. Everyone fall in!" he yelled, drawing in the rest of the Kupa Keep Kids as I held my breath, lit the shit on fire, and let go of the bucket: watching the flaming shit fly through the air and burn the barricade down. "That's it! Hurry Feldspar: open the door before they know what's happened!" Eric ordered as the gym became full of our guys, leaving me to stand aside next to an elven flag and watch Craig open the doors Stan had fled into. Even though we were winning this war, I could help but wonder: if we were winning for the good of the humans…why did I feel so guilty?


	42. Chapter 42

Walking up next to Craig as he unlocked the doors, he suddenly glanced at me after Alex had appeared on his other side. "Don't underestimate Kyle: he's killed me a bunch of times." he said as he got the doors open: letting the human army enter the once-restricted room. "Push forward, I must save my strength for the Final Battle." Eric said as he took out a bag of Cheesypoofs and started munching on them, making me narrow my eyes at him.

"You mean: 'You guys go ahead and do all the work while I just sit here and relax' that's the definition of a lazy-ass right there." I scoffed before following after the group of humans, ignoring the retorts and insults Eric sent my way. Stepping past my friends, I looked ahead of me to find Stan standing still with his back to us as a group of elves hauled ass up the stairs to his left. Turning around, Stan glared at me as if I was a pile of shit on the bottom of his shoe.

"This ends here New Kid!" he said as he brandished his two-handed sword in a flashy display before pointing it at me. "I don't want to fight you Stan, just give us The Stick and we'll leave." I said as we began circling each other, not breaking eye contact as I dropped my sword on the floor with a metallic 'clang' that only pissed Stan off even more. "I don't give a shit what you want to do! You BETRAYED us and for that you will face the consequences." he yelled as he charged my unarmed form, completely ignoring the cries of the rest of the humans as they called Foul Play. 'I'm sorry Stan.' I thought as I brought my arm up and blocked his sword before using his own momentum against him by twisting my body: sending him stumbling past me.

"Argh! Fight back damn you!" he yelled as he came at me again, only to have me stick my foot out and trip him: sending him flat on his face as the others laughed: pissing him off as he suddenly put two fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. "Let's see you handle the both of us." he growled as he was suddenly joined by a light and dark-brown dog with a pink ribbon around its neck. "Aw. He's cute." I said, making a grin appear on Stan's face before he became angry again. Charging forward, Stan and his dog attacked me: only to be stopped in their tracks as I snatched hold of the dog's mouth with one hand and Stan's sword arm with the other.

"I said I didn't want to fight you Stan, and NOT because I'm afraid to do so." I said as I yanked him toward me, causing him to stumble forward and come into contact with a head-butt. "I'm afraid to hurt a friend." I growled as I tossed the struggling and snarling dog backwards, knocking it into Stan as he staggered to his feet. Taking a defensive stance, I tried to tell him to back off: but his rage at me for betraying the elves had blinded him to that as he attacked me again. And that rage only increased tenfold once he saw that his dog had been defeated and was laying on the floor unmoving.

"Oh no. No! NO! NO!" he yelled as tears of anger rolled down his face before he charged with a roar of rage: causing me to block a very impressive combo of hits before he jumped and brought the sword down on my head. "Kya-Kya!" he yelled as his sword made contact with my skull, making me drop to the floor with a yelp. Kneeling on the floor, I blinked hard as I tried to shake off the dizziness and blurred vision when I noticed something: drops of blood were hitting the floor directly in my field of vision. Raising a hand up, I placed it right where Stan had hit me, only to stare in shock as my white and green glove came away dark-red.

"Shit! Oh Shit Saphira! I'm sorry!" Stan yelled, making my ears and head hurt as he dropped his sword on the floor and rushed over to me. As I stared at my bloodied hand, all sound around me became nothing more than background noise as the sight of my own blood brought back memories I did NOT want to have: and that was enough to make 'me' disappear. As soon as I felt hands on my shoulders, I thrust my open hand forward in a hard force-palm: sending whoever it was flying backwards on the floor several feet away. Looking upwards, I watched as my vision changed into a blend of green, blue, red and orange: making it look like I was looking through heat-vision goggles.

"OW! Saphira wha-" the one whose voice was familiar to me started, only to stop in his tracks as I glared at him with my now neon-green colored eyes. As I slowly stood up, my advanced senses picked up multiple scents of fear as I focused on the armored target in front of me that slowly backed away. "Saphira! Saphira STOP! It's me! It's Stan: you're friend!" my target screamed as I lunged forward in a pounce, only to come in contact with the floor as he rolled away from me.

Turning on a dime, I lunged again in a blur: this time pinning my target to the floor, loving how terrified he was as I contemplated on how he would taste as I consumed him. "Saphira, please: this isn't how you are! You want us to believe you're not a monster: then prove yourself and everyone else wrong and WAKE UP!" my target yelled before he rammed his head into my own, sending me flat on my back. As I waited for the stars to stop dancing in front of my head, my vision and state of mind came back: leaving me to wonder what exactly happened between when I saw my own blood and now.

Leaning up on my elbows, I took in Stan holding his sword out in front of him defensively while the rest of my friends huddled against the wall with wide eyes and pale faces. 'Why are they looking at me like that? Fuck! What did I do?!' I thought as I jumped to my feet, only to get hit with dizziness and nausea as I dropped back to the floor. It didn't take me long to figure out: I had attacked Stan! That much was clear as I took in the fear on everyone's faces: the faces I couldn't stand to see as I jammed my fists in my eyes to keep myself from crying.

'First Mysterion, now Stan! How many friends are going to get hurt because of me?!' I thought as I was fighting a losing battle as tears soaked into my gloves as the silence of the room was shattered by my sniffles. "Stan! Dude! What the fuck are you doing?!" Eric yelled, making me flinch as I heard somebody crouch in front of me. "It wasn't her fault! You guys didn't see what we saw in that Taco Bell, or heard the things those guys said: what they did to her. You ok?" he asked me as I glanced up at him through my swollen, tear-stained eyes: confused how he could be so forgiving when I was positive I tried to kill him.

"Why are you doing this? Being so kind to someone like me when I don't deserve it?" I questioned with a watery voice, making him frown before he helped me to my feet. "Because we're friends, and that's what friends do." he said as he handed me my sword back before stepping aside: leaving the stairway clear for us to pass. "But…what about-" I started, only to have him shake his head with a grin. "Just pretend you defeated me, which technically: you did. Good luck facing Kyle, Saphira: you'll need it." Stan said as I led the humans past him and up the stairs, letting out a sigh of relief as the guys seemed to follow Stan's lead and forgive what I had done.

"So much for the legendary Stan Marshwalker." Butters said from behind me as we came to a stop at the top of the stairs: where a group of three elves had Tweek surrounded. "Hang in there, Tweek!" I called as I dashed forward and tackled all three of them: knocking the elves back into the lockers and away from my friend. Figuring out that I had defeated Stan, the elves turned-tail and ran: not wanting to get into a fight with me. As Butters 'healed' Tweek, I glanced down the hallway towards the classroom where I knew one of two things could happen: we could either reclaim The Stick. Or, we could be forced into slavery by the very elves I had betrayed.


	43. Chapter 43

As I headed down the hallway, the PA system crackled to life once again, but this time: Kyle sounded…nervous? "Seriously, Saphira, you're breaking my balls here. This is your last chance to walk away from this: he's nothing without you." he said as I laughed for a few minutes before clearing my throat and watched as Eric took the lead and walked ahead of us toward Mr. Garrison's classroom: getting more aggravated with every step he took. 'Kid's a loose cannon: I'd hate to think of how he would react to meeting a Blackwatch soldier.' I mused morbidly at the thought of any of my friends meeting those power-hungry douchebags.

Coming to a stop outside the fourth grade classroom, Eric suddenly stepped aside and tilted his hat to me. "This is it, you have the honor of leading the final assault Commander." he said, making me swell up with pride before narrowing my eyes at the door as I gripped the knob and gave it a twist. As I opened the door and stepped inside, I came face-to-face with not only Kyle, but with his surviving elves as well. "Back away from the desk Jew-King!" Eric yelled as he stormed into the room as Kyle stood next to Mr. Garrison's overturned desk. "The Stick doesn't belong with a fat, RACIST, LIAR!" Kyle snapped as the rest of his elves bashed their shields and weapons in agreement.

"Alright Kyle: you fuckin' asked for it! Go ahead and kick his ass MacManus!" Eric said, pointing at Kyle with his staff as I stood between the two leaders: realizing that I was about to have a decision to make. "Saphira, Cartman is USING YOU for his benefit, can't you see that? He's a manipulator!" Kyle said as he pointed at the Grand Wizard across from him. "You're just jealous cuz the New Kids picked my side over yours Kahl!" Eric yelled, getting more pissed off the longer this argument progressed as I struggled to find a way to avoid picking a side.

"You've got one last chance Saphira: turn around and fight Cartman instead. Do the right thing!" Kyle said as the two leaders glared daggers at each other as each of the respective armies looked at each other nervously. "Don't let him Jew Wash your brain MacManus!" Eric warned as he glared at me: daring me to betray him for the likes of Kyle. "Attack him! NOW! It isn't me you should be fighting: it's HIM! So pick a side." Kyle egged, urging me to pick a side to choose as I glanced between each of the two boys and their armies. "Kick his ass MacManus: don't be shy!" Eric said as I glanced at him, finally believing I had made the right choice: until I caught sight of something I NEVER wanted to see: especially on one of my friends.

With a horrified expression on my face, I stared frozen at the small bright-red spot hovering on the side of Eric's head: the spot nobody else seemed to see. With a terrified gasp, I slammed myself full-force into Eric: sending both of us to the floor as he angrily kicked me off of him. "Oh you MOTHER FUCKER! I KNEW you were a fucking bitch!" he snarled as he prepared to attack me, only to have me knock him to the floor again. "That isn't how you fight Saphira." Stan said from behind Kyle as I continued to pin the Grand Wizard to the floor: aware of how awkward it was but I didn't give a shit.

"Is that how you thank someone who just saved your fucking life?!" I shouted in his face, silencing the room as Eric quit struggling to stare at my dead-serious expression. "The fuck are you smoking?!" he spat as he tried to get me off of him, when I grabbed hold of his head and forced him to look at the perfectly-round, golf ball-sized hole in the wall that wasn't there before. "You see that? THAT was going to be your head, asshole! Now you can either STOP being such a prick and listen to me, OR you can stand up and get sniped through the brain: your choice." I growled as the other kids began to panic at the idea of a real sniper picking them off.

With a gulp, Eric nodded as I got off of him and crouched down: keeping below the windows as the other kids quickly followed my lead without question. 'I had hoped they wouldn't show up so soon.' I thought as I strained my ears to listen for footsteps: only to hear them far away from us. "Okay listen up: the guys that are coming up here are NOT our friends. They can and WILL kill you for fun so here's what you guys are going to do: you are going to gather your friends and HIDE. Hide in the lockers, janitor closets: whatever. As long as it has a lock, use it to hide! And none of you come out until I say so." I said as Alex started crying and whimpering, because he knew exactly WHO I was talking about.

"B-But w-what about you?" Butters asked fearfully as everybody looked at me with wide, terrified eyes as the sounds of banging doors and running footsteps became louder by the minute. "I'M the one they want: just keep yourselves hidden, leave them to me." I said seriously as Alex suddenly tackled me in a bear-hug and wouldn't let go. "No Saphira, PLEASE! Not again! Don't go again!" he yelled in hysterics, making me pull him off and hand his wriggling form to Kyle: who held my brother back in his own trembling grip.

"Well?! Are you waiting for a FORMAL invitation?! GET GOING!" I yelled as I roughly shoved them out the door as they began running and frantically searching for places to hide, some of them glancing back at me every now and then. "Alright you fuckers, come and get me." I said as I stood up and flexed my spine: calling forth my body suit as my costume melted away, just as the door to the stairwell slammed against the wall. 'I won't let them near my friends! I refuse!' I thought as I heard the squad of Blackwatch soldiers stalk down the hallway: searching classrooms, bathrooms and lockers alike as they searched for their target.

"Ghost three-nine this is Pit Viper: we've got bio-organic readings within fifty yards, moving to engage. Over." a low and menacing voice sounded from down the hall as static from a radio sounded: but I couldn't hear the reply. 'This it too close of a space for me to fight these bastards in, I need to get into the hallway.' I thought as I transformed into the mouse I had consumed so long ago and used it to run around the doorframe, between the squad's legs and several yards behind them. As I transformed back, I saw that this squad had four soldiers as they quietly crept along the destroyed hallway: the flashlights on the ends of their rifles illuminating the dark spaces as the radio attached to the Commander's vest buzzed to life again.

"Ghost three-nine to ground, do you have Target in sight? Over." the voice demanded as the Commander tilted the radio in order to reply. "That's negative, continuing current course. Over." he answered as each of them began searching Mr. Garrison's classroom. "Rodger that Pit Viper, McMullen wants it ALIVE. Subdue the Target and prepare it for transport." the voice on the radio ordered, making me want to vomit at the sound of the head scientist's name. "Copy." the Commander said before the radio went dead, giving me the perfect moment to show myself, but decided to wait until they were a little bit further away. "We're clear. Continue with operations and move up: you two! With me." the Commander ordered as two of his lackeys moved ahead in order to check the nearby lockers as I calmly walked up behind them: stopping a few yards away.

'Enough of this Cat and Mouse bullshit!' I snarled to myself as I slammed a nearby door shut: catching their attention instantly. "Hiya fellas! Remember me?!" I said in a mock-pleasant voice as four assault rifles were suddenly aimed at me as the Blackwatch soldiers turned around. "THAT'S HER!" the Commander yelled as biomass cloaked my arms before my curved blades for claws showed themselves with a menacing 'shink': causing two of the youngest soldiers to look at each other through their gasmasks.

"Commander?" the one next to the squad leader questioned, demanding orders as I glared viciously at them from down the hallway. "OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE!" the Commander yelled as I charged forward and shoved my foot-long bladed claws through his torso and out his back, only to pick him up and rip him in two by pulling apart his severed spine: painting not only myself, but the floor in his warm blood and organs as well. Brushing off the bullets as they rapidly nipped at my skin and body suit, I backhanded the soldier closest to me: sending him flying into the air. Jumping up after him, I changed my right arm into the blade before cleaving him in half, right down the middle: sending his blood and parts to decorate the hallway.

As gunfire and bullet casings continued to make their noise, I whirled around and grabbed hold of a soldier's head in my claws as he ran up behind me. "Stupid fool." I snarled, tightening my grip as the serrated blades that served as claws broke through his armored gasmask and dug into his skull. At the satisfying 'crack' and cry of pain, I effortlessly threw him down the hallway as his screams were cut short by his head and shoulders penetrating the plaster wall. Watching blood drain down the green and white wall and onto the floor, the twitching limbs would soon serve as a new coatrack as I turned my attention to the last soldier.

Watching as he continued to shoot me, I stared at the rapidly-closing wounds with a bored expression: only to send a wicked, toothy grin at the solder as he ran out of bullets. Dashing forward in a black-cherry and red blur, I snatched the soldier by his vest and held him up off the ground: which probably looked hilarious considering I was only four feet tall, while he was around 6'8. "So, I hear you know where McMullen is." I said sweetly as he struggled to escape, only to have me flex my claws through his bullet-proof vest and into his skin: making him scream as I gave him a solid shake.

"I'm not telling you shit you fucking demon! Go fuck yourself!" he screamed as he tried to kick me to get me to let go, only to have no effect. "That's okay! You don't have to." I suddenly snarled as several tendrils appeared and wound their way around his body like rapidly-growing vines. "NO! Wait PLEASE I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want! Get away from me! OH JESUS GET AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed as I shoved my claws through his chest: letting the biomass swarm over his thrashing body and mold his DNA with my own: consuming him like a carnivorous plant. Shuddering as the biomass retreated back into my suit, I carefully examined the soldier's memories and found that the cause of my existence was on his way to collect me: giving me the perfect opportunity to end this…once and for all.


	44. Chapter 44

Changing my arms back to normal, I shook the blood from me like a dog getting rid of water before I looked at the carnage around me with a sigh. 'Well THAT could've gone a lot worse. Where's a bucket and a mop when you need them?' I wondered as I used my tendrils to pick up and absorb the pieces of my fallen enemy: leaving nothing but their blood behind.

After I had cleaned up the mess as best as I could, I headed back inside Mr. Garrison's classroom: to find that the soldiers basically flipped the room upside-down. Papers were thrown everywhere, the students' desks were flipped and tossed, and filing cabinets were on their sides, leaving the room looking worse than even the damage done by the elves.

Navigating the mess, I reached Mr. Garrison's desk and picked up the mic for the PA system, taking a few minutes to listen and make sure that was the only squad in the school before pushing the button. "The bad guys are all gone: you guys can come out now." I said as my voice echoed throughout the hallways before the sounds of kids coming out of their hiding places took its place. I didn't have to wait long before running footsteps reached my ears, making me quickly use the biomass to change my body suit back into my costume just as Kyle, Eric, and Stan barged into the room with their respective factions.

As if the concerned looks on their faces wasn't embarrassing enough, Alex almost knocked me to the floor as his sobbing and terrified form jumped on me. "Dude! Dude we heard gunshots! What the fuck happened?!" Stan shouted as they all stared at me as I sat my brother down on one of the desks. "Just what I said what was going to happen: I took CARE of it." I said as Alex buried his face in my back as his sniffles became louder.

"T-Those guys…they were Blackwatch, weren't they?" Kyle asked as I nodded, ignoring the looks of confusion everyone else but Kyle, Stan and Alex sent my way. "I hoped they wouldn't be here when they were: but being who they are…it honestly doesn't surprise me. And now we're going to have to make new rules for this game: first, nobody goes anywhere by themselves: I don't need to tell Stan and Kyle why. Second, no more of this 'defending Zaron at night' shit: you DON'T want to get confused with something else by these guys, trust me. Third, don't attract attention to yourself: they tend to make things easier for you if you stay out of their way. And finally, if you think they're after you for any reason: you guys come to me and I'll handle it." I explained as they looked at each other with a mixture of fear, confusion and weariness.

"Who the hell is Blackwatch?!" Token questioned as Tweek curled himself into a ball in the corner. "To put them simply: they are a branch of the military that doesn't give a shit about rules or each other. If it came down to it, they would kill each other without a second thought: as well as anyone else for fun. They HAVE no rules to follow and have been hunting me for a long time, too bad I 'break their balls' every time they come over to say 'hello'. If you happen to see any of them, stay out of their sight and they'll hopefully leave you alone because they are the literal definition of douchebags: trust me, you'll know them when you see them." I explained as they nervously looked at each other and gulped.

"Wh-What did ya d-do to the ones t-that were h-here?" Butters stuttered fearfully as Alex gripped me tighter because he knew how I 'handled' them. "Don't worry about it." I said shortly, leaving no room for further conversation on the subject as Stan and Kyle both gave me a horrified look: they knew. After several minutes of sitting in silence, the shock of what happened started to wear off as Eric nervously got back into his character: cueing the rest of the kids to try to do the same.

"That was a lot of gunfire Saphira, and I very highly doubt they missed that much. Are you okay? You didn't get shot did you?!" Kyle whispered to me, keeping his voice low to avoid attracting attention as I glanced at Alex before looking at him. "Trust me Kyle, there's nothing more they can do to hurt me." I said as I moved away from Alex and over to one of the windows: carefully keeping watch for any more unwanted 'surprises' as Eric and Kyle started fighting each other: with the loud sounds of both a fart and a leaf-blower sounding after a while.

After about five minutes of the two leaders fighting each other, I glanced behind me to find Kyle on the floor looking no worse for wear while Eric stood above him doing a victory dance. "The evil Jew-Elf has been defeated! Goth Kids: take The Stick from inside his desk! Victory is ours!" Eric cheered as the Goth kids approached Kyle's still-standing desk, only to stare back at Eric like he was stupid. "Wait a minute, our desks don't HAVE insides." the Goth kid with red and black hair said, making Eric stop celebrating and stare at them dumbfounded.

"What?" Eric said as he furrowed his eyebrows: as if he didn't hear right. "Desks at this school just have tabletops." the tallest one said, making the color drain from the Grand Wizard's face as he stared at them in disbelief. 'I'm going to have to ask those guys for their names soon, considering we were never properly introduced.' I thought as I scanned through the darkness of outside with my sonar: searching for any approaching choppers, ground troops, or snipers on the rooftops of other buildings.

"B-But Twitter said that-" Eric started in a small voice as he tried to comprehend that he had walked into yet ANOTHER false-lead that was a complete waste of time. "Look over here, this desk has writing on it." the female Goth kid said, just as I had deemed the area safe and walked over to a knocked-over desk with the words 'Check My Locker' written on it in sloppily-scrawled pencil. "Check my locker." one of the Goth kids said as Eric became curious of the mysterious message. "Who's desk is that?" he asked from his spot next to the 'fallen' Elf King: who had come out of his defeat long enough to flip himself over.

"That's-That's CLYDE'S desk." Kyle said: as if he couldn't believe that a message like that would be written on Clyde's desk. Sharing a look with Eric, I walked over and helped Kyle to his feet before both the human and the elf armies headed down the (according to Butters) 'ketchup-painted' hallway and over to Clyde's locker that was placed right next to mine. Frowning as I saw his locker had no lock on it, I watched as Stan opened the small metal door and retrieved a laptop from the shelf. Gathering around, Eric, Kyle, Alex and I watched as Stan turned the laptop on: only to reveal Clyde dressed in red, black and purple armor with sticks poking out from under his metal shoulder plates.

As the video loaded, everyone watching stared in shock as Clyde held The Stick in his hand for us all to see. "Greetings humans and Drow Elves of Zaron." he said from the speakers, holding The Stick like a trophy. "Clyde?" Stan questioned as the boys' mouths dropped while Alex and I shared a glance. "HE took The Stick!" Eric said angrily as I fought to face-palm at the obvious. "While you all have been busy fighting amongst yourselves I have built a kingdom beyond your comprehension! I prayed for a way to defeat you all and the solution came crashing down from the…heavens." Clyde said as the camera followed him over to an orange bio-hazard barrel with a nozzle cut into it.

Next to the barrel was a dead cat that looked like it had been dug up from someone's flower garden. "Oh no! It's more of that green stuff!" Kyle gasped as Clyde turned the spigot on the nozzle and filled a ladle full of the toxic fluid. 'That stupid kid has no idea what he's playing with!' I thought as he poured the liquid onto the cat's body: which had turned a sickly-green as a red band with a small black Swastika formed itself on the cat's left front leg. "With what I have found, I shall raise an army of the dead!" Clyde said as the cat started 'meowing' until its calls changed into a German phrase that sounded like 'all hail The Keeper of The Stick' as it saluted Clyde before running off.

"I shall raise an Army of Darkness and KILL the Earth!" Clyde said with a maniacal cackle as he put on a purple crown with three gray spikes and a bird's skull on it. "Clyde…but why?" Stan asked as Eric looked over at him. "I banished him from Space and Time and now he's all pissed off." Eric said as I smacked him upside his head, making a smirk stretch across my face as he whined. "Yeah, he's pissed off at ME and blames ME for it you asshole." I growled at him as Clyde continued to laugh until he was interrupted by someone in the background.

"Clyde do you want a sandwich?" a man's voice asked, drawing away Clyde's attention. "Not right now dad, I'm making a Ruler of Darkness video." he said to the person off-camera before glaring back at us through the computer screen. "Whoever controls The Stick controls the Universe: and my first deed is that I hereby DENOUNCE both the human and the elf kingdoms. And strip BOTH kings of all their power!" he said with a loud evil laugh until the screen went black, shocking all the boys near me at the thought of such a thing happening to them.

"Mother fucker!" Eric snapped as he stormed out the school's nearest exit, followed by both the human and the elf armies, while I stayed in the back of the group in order to watch for an ambush of any kind. 'Well, looks like Kyle's prophecy about the Army of Darkness came true: now it's time to find out if the part of the Savior is as well.' I thought as I followed after the boys through the nearly pitch-black streets: scared to death that Blackwatch was here, but I'd be damned if they tried to use my friends against me.


	45. Chapter 45

After about twenty minutes of running around in the dark, we finally reached our destination as Eric stormed up the driveway and onto the front porch of a chocolate-colored house. As the rest of us caught up with him, he gripped his staff tightly before banging on the front door until the porch-light came on. The man who answered the door had on a dark-green jacket, white dress-shirt on underneath and blue jeans.

Studying his face, I saw he had hair similar to Clyde's with black-framed glasses on his face. "Oh, hello boys." he greeted, making me realize he had the same voice as the person that spoke to Clyde off-camera in his video. "Can we speak to Clyde please?!" Eric demanded in a question, not really taking 'No' for an answer. "Oh, Clyde's out in the backyard playing with his little friends." Clyde's dad said as Eric and the rest of the boys stormed past him without even being invited inside.

"Pardon us, sir." I apologized, shocking the man as I politely-but hurriedly followed the rest of the boys through the house and out into the backyard: though I couldn't help but wonder what he meant when he said 'little friends'. Stepping onto the grass, I had to do a triple-take as the rest of the boys stared in shock and awe at what had become of Clyde's backyard. Across a water-filled moat: complete with inflatable alligators, was a four-story treehouse that had been decorated with spires of spikes, Tiki torches, black and red flags with white skulls painted on them, while rope ladders stretched upwards to the higher levels. Higher up the tree, chains wove around the branches and underside of the treehouse: glowing eerily in the torchlight as the middle level of the treehouse caught my eye.

It looked like any other treehouse, but it was painted purple and red like the rest of it with giant red cardboard spikes that appeared to 'grow' from the upper sides, while a pair of red flags blew in the wind from a couple miniature towers. Raising my gaze higher, I saw the same red spikes come to a stop around a balcony with a green curtain behind it. On the sides of the balcony, were two more of those black and red flags that showed up nicely with the half-dozen Tiki torches surrounding the top. The entire thing was incredible: making me wish I had been invited to go inside.

That changed however as Clyde (dressed in his evil Warlord glory) stepped out onto the balcony and leered down at us. "Come and get it losers!" he yelled with his own version of an evil laugh, making Eric glare back up at him before pointing his staff at him. "You can't do that, Clyde! You're lost in Time and Space!" Eric yelled back, making a glare of my own appear on my face as I spotted multiple pairs of eyes glinting in the torchlight from within the shadows. "No I'm not!" Clyde denied with a smug smirk, pissing off Eric even more. "Yeah you ARE asshole!" he yelled as Clyde raised both of his arms up with a maniacal sneer on his face. "Army of Darkness! Defend the Fortress!" he called, causing a gang of kids to show themselves from the shadows and crevices of the massive treehouse.

Looking at Clyde's army, I saw many of the kids looked like vampires, while others looked like they could've come from a Blackwatch family. The entire army had nearly fifty members: more than both the human and the elf armies combined: not leaving good odds in our favor. To make things even worse, suddenly standing by Clyde's side: stood Craig, shocking all of us on the ground level. "Craig…? Craig you're on MY side!" Eric yelled as he slammed his staff on the snowy ground, making a small twinge of anger come to life in me at his betrayal.

"You don't have authority anymore, The Keeper of The Stick said so." Craig said, drawing a smile from Clyde as he held The Stick close to him before glaring down at us. "This can't be happening." Kyle said in denial, making me almost feel bad: but decided to hold off on doing that until I came face-to-face with the both of them. "GOD DAMMIT I HAVE FUCKING AUTHORITAY!" Eric screamed in rage as he stomped his feet, startling Alex as I let out a heavy sigh at this whole situation. "Sorry Warriors and Wizards, I'd love to invite you IN to my Fortress of Darkness: but I'm afraid you're TOO LATE!" Clyde said, making me suddenly gulp at the realization of what he was talking about.

'Oh…shit.' I thought as the rest of the boys' faces became confused. "Too late? What'dya mean we're TOO LATE?" Stan question as the man in the white tie I saw at the PTA meeting and a woman with blonde hair angrily came storming into the backyard. "THERE you are Butters! Do you know what time it is mister?! It is WAY PAST YOUR BEDTIME!" the man yelled, causing a petrified look to appear on the paladin's face as he shrank away from the pissed-off adults. "Oh shit, its past our bedtime?!" Eric whispered to himself as the rest of the kids quickly dashed off for home as fast as their feet could carry them. Glaring up at Clyde, I swore I would retrieve The Stick and rub his face in it as his 'Army of Darkness' crumbled under his feet, along with his kingdom as I picked up Alex and sprinted off for home.

Unfortunately for Alex, as soon as I had put him down on the sidewalk: did mom and dad cross his path. Since I'm supposed to be grounded, I jumped on top of a nearby house to avoid being seen, though I did feel bad for my brother as my dad yelled at him. As I watched my dad pick Alex up, I quickly made a mad-dash for my house, climbed up the tree, and dove into my room before my parents got home. Taking off my costume and hiding it under my bed, I changed into my red plaid PJs before going to check on Mysterion. Quietly peeking in the guest room, I saw that he was STILL asleep: giving me time to collect his torn costume and sewing kit off the floor.

Sitting in the chair next to the desk, I turned the shirt inside-out and began sewing it back together. It didn't take me long to repair it, though I was tempted to have my mom wash it before I gave it back to the vigilante as I heard my dad scold Alex before locking him in our room. "Ouch." I heard from near me, making me realize Mysterion had finally decided to wake up. Glancing over at him, I watched as he took in the room he was in with a dreary look on his face before quickly sitting up: only to forget he was wounded as he flopped back down with a hiss.

"Hey there." I said softly, making him jump as he finally noticed I was there. "Where am I?" he questioned in a groggy voice, making me snicker half-heartedly at him. "You are in my house: I couldn't take you to the hospital because you would've died before I got you there." I told him as he managed to sit up without hurting himself. "So? I die all the time and come back the next day, why bother saving me?" he asked, making me swallow in shame before glancing out the window. "Even if you DID come back the next day: I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if my best friend died because of me. And that's another thing: why didn't you listen to me when I told you to run?! You wouldn't be ripped to shreds right now if you did." I said, anger leaking out of my voice as Mysterion glanced down at the blanket he was wrapped in.

"Same reason you saved me I suppose, even though I feel like shit and got my ass handed to me." he said as I turned back to him and handed him pain meds and a cup of water. "No offense, but you look like shit: though I guess you could look a lot worse, considering it was a Hunter that did that to you." I said as he narrowed his eyes at me in a scowl before checking out his bandages. "You did this?" he asked as he poked the bandages, only to flinch as he touched one of the healing wounds.

"I did. I was pretty much the only one that knew how to put you back together…though you're going to have a wicked scar from that little act of heroism. You can leave the bandages off in a week, but leave the stitches alone." I warned as he unwrapped the bandages and frowned at the sight of his gruesome injuries. "How long was I out?" he questioned as he took a drink of water. "Two days. Glad you woke up when you did: I was starting to think you went into a coma." I told him as his eyes widened as he threw away the empty cup and made to get out of bed.

"Karen!" he yelled suddenly, making me jump into his path and prevent him from moving. "What is it Mysterion?" I asked as he frantically tried to get past me, not caring how much his wounds hurt him. "Karen! I have to make sure she's alright!" he growled with a barely-concealed desperate look on his face as he tried to get past me again. "You stay put and I'LL go check on your friend. Just tell me where to go and I'll make sure she's okay." I said as he glared at me before trying to shove his way past me. "She doesn't KNOW you! I'm her Guardian Angel: it's MY job to watch out for her! Now let me past: or you and I are no longer partners!" he snarled, making my eyes widen in shock before narrowing into their own glare.

"Let me AT LEAST give you a once-over and help you down the stairs, I don't want to have to sew you back up just because you decided to be a stubborn jackass." I snapped as we stared at each other, before Mysterion gave in: allowing me to check and see if any of his wounds were getting infected or losing stitches. Satisfied that I could find neither, I gave him a warning look before putting more alcohol and ointment on: smirking mischievously as he kept flinching when I touched certain places. When I was done with that, I made sure he was paying attention as I showed him how to change his own bandages as I re-wrapped his torso in clean gauze.

"Why Mysterion: I never knew you were ticklish." I teased, laughing at his irritated scowl before I handed him his shirt back: only to hiss in pain, catching his attention. "Are you alright?" he questioned, concern clear in his blue eyes as I winced: finally feeling the after-effects of my encounter with Blackwatch. "Normally I would do this myself but, could you…help me with something?" I asked, embarrassed for asking him to help me: ESPECIALLY with what I needed him to.

"What?" he asked suspiciously as I pulled out a heavy-duty magnet out from the desk drawer, as well as a deathly-sharp pocket knife that was the 'head' of a Xenomorph from Alien. Flipping open the claw-shaped blade with a loud 'snap', I flipped it in the air and handed it to him as he stared at it cautiously. "Blackwatch found me today while I was playing with my friends. I told them to hide while I dealt with them, that particular squad won't bother anyone again…but I forgot what a bitch it was to be shot." I said as his eyes widened before he rushed over and literally checked countless times for bullet holes.

"You won't find them if that's what you're looking for. The virus helps, but makes it hard to remove them: that's why I need your help with the ones I can't reach." I said as I willed my hidden body suit to retreat before I took the blade to my skin and opened myself up: ignoring how Mysterion cringed as I used the magnet to collect at least sixty rounds from my torso, arms and legs. "Holy shit." Mysterion gasped as he took in the brass bullets that littered the floor before I handed the blade to him. 'This is gonna be fun.' I thought sarcastically as Mysterion eyed the Xenomorph blade like it was the plague.

"I don't like it either, trust me when I tell you that: but this is the only way to get rid of them. Don't worry: you won't hurt me, the virus will repair whatever you do: which is how I became full of lead in the first place." I said as he reluctantly took it from me and did as I requested, though I could tell he hated every second of it. By the time he was done, a total of nearly one-hundred hollow-point bullets covered the floor. "I can't imagine being shot this many times at once." he muttered as I swept them up and tossed them in a plastic bag before helping Mysterion back into his shirt.

"I didn't even really feel it until now, I'll take it as a blessing though: especially considering the one who did this to me wants me back." I said as I draped his arm over my shoulders and helped him walk down the stairs. Before he could reply, I shushed him as I wasn't finished with what I was saying to him. "But that's okay, let him come get me: that way I can put an end to his pitiful existence for doing this to me and who knows how many others." I said as I opened the front door and helped him onto the front porch.

"Revenge won't solve anything: if anything it will make things worse, it won't make you feel any better or fix what has been done." he warned with a wince as he accidentally stretched his stitches as he fixed his hood. "Maybe not, but it will prevent him from continuing his sick, twisted ways. Thank you for your help Mysterion, I appreciate it. And in case you're wondering: no, I didn't look under your mask: I have too much respect for you to do that." I said, shocking the vigilante into almost falling over, had I not grabbed hold of his arm to steady him.

"Thank you for all you have done, I won't forget your kindness when it wasn't needed: as well as you leaving my identity a secret." he said as I grinned at him, pleased that he was opening up more and trusting me like a friend instead of seeing me as a danger to the town like he did when we met. "You sure you're up to leave?" I asked as he winced before nodding once, turned around and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me to wonder how the hell he does that as I shut and locked the front door again before heading upstairs: hoping to catch some very much-needed sleep for once in my unnatural life.


	46. Chapter 46

Despite desperately wanting to sleep, it proved impossible as my parents decided to 'test out the sheets' all night long. This fact not only probably scarred Alex for life, but also caused me to sleep almost into the afternoon as the sounds of the boys talking and yelling outside woke me up. Getting out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and changed out of my PJs and back into my Commander's costume before heading downstairs. As I headed into the kitchen to grab myself some breakfast, I saw Alex sitting at the table with an ashen look on his face as he kept staring at my parents in the living room.

'Something tells me he walked in when he wasn't supposed to: Alex, I am so sorry.' I thought as I tried not to laugh as I downed a glass of orange juice before putting my bowl in the sink and walking over to the living room. Not sparing either of my parents a glance, I put my boots on and headed outside: only to literally run into Stan as he lifted his fist to knock on the door. "Holy shit, sorry Stan." I said as we got over our surprise and walked further into the front yard as Alex followed after us (after I angrily flipped my dad off as he tried to threaten me into getting back inside).

"It's alright, hey: there's an emergency meeting at the Elven Forest." he said as Alex tied his boot before the three of us crossed the quiet street and over to Kyle's house. As we crossed the street, I saw large pieces of both the UFO and the Blackwatch chopper jammed into the ground, some of them were still smoking even after three days of sitting in the cold air. As Stan headed inside the backyard, Alex gave me a nervous nod before following after him: where a meeting of both the human and the elf armies were assembled.

Before I could enter the backyard, I saw Kyle's dad shoveling snow from the driveway: only to spot me and welcome me and my brother to the neighborhood. Thanking him with a smile, I turned around and headed inside Kyle's backyard: just as he noticed me and made everyone else aware of me as well. Taking in the members, my face split into a grin as I spotted Kenny sitting in the front row next to Butters: though he didn't look like he usually did, probably because he was tired from his trip or something.

Sending him a wave, I saw Kyle standing where his throne should've been, only now there was a projector and a screen in its place. "Ah, Commander MacManus has decided to grace us with her presence…let's get started." Kyle said as I took the empty seat between Eric and Alex, while Stan and the rest of the elves sat further on my right.

"Humans and elves of Zaron: a great evil has descended upon us, just as the prophecy foretold. After researching last night, I believe we are facing a threat to our entire world." he said as he walked over to the projector and turned it on. 'I tried to warn you, at least you know what will most-probably happen now that Blackwatch is here.' I thought as Kyle continued, which made me nervous because most of these kids had no idea what was really going on.

"Clyde's Fortress of Darkness is over four stories tall, so far he's recruited at least fifty warriors for his team. If he-" he continued as Eric rudely interrupted him with his snickering. "He-He leave it to Kyle." Eric snickered to Butters as the elf king glared harshly at him. "You've got something to say wizard?" Kyle snapped, catching Eric's attention for a second as he decided to speak up. "Oh nothing, just find it kinda funny how Drow Elves in the Middle Ages can use PowerPoint." he said as I scoffed before sending Kyle an apologetic look as he seethed where he stood.

"You guys, this is SERIOUS! Clyde is attempting to raise an Army of Darkness: he is playing with something he cannot control. He has already recruited many of our friends and so…I believe our only hope, is to join forces." Kyle insisted, drawing a negative reaction out of Eric and the rest of the humans immediately. "Fuck. That. We do not team up with fucking ELVES." Eric said as Stan stood up for his friend and decided it was his turn to speak up. "You got a better idea, Wizard Fatass?!" he snapped, making Eric's face turn red in anger and made to argue when Butters took his turn to speak.

"After what you elves did to us at The Battle of Wormsly Woods, you think we'll ever trust you?!" Butters snapped, making me realize Chaos had taken over to put in his two cents. "Yeah! You-You tell 'em Butters-" Eric started, only to have Stan interrupt, making my head hurt as I struggled to pay attention to everyone's point of view on the subject at the same time. "That-That was Jimmy's fault and he apologized." he said, causing Eric to scoff and glare past me and over at Stan. "Oh-Oh we're apologizing now?! How about we apologize for breaking the rules about using arcane fire magic?!" he said sarcastically as Token shouted his agreement from next to Kenny.

"HEY! That was the human's rule: NOT ours!" the blonde elf Commander said from next to Stan as Chaos once again caught everyone's attention. "Join forces, my paladin ass! Only good elf is a dead elf!" Chaos snapped angrily, causing the entire elf army to either glare at him or shout in outrage. "Why don't you s-s-suck my elven d-dick, Butters?" Jimmy questioned, making me finally have enough of all this arguing that was getting us absolutely nowhere. "Boys…boys." I tried, only to be ignored as the arguing escalated to getting in each other's faces: ready to tear each other apart. "HEY! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yelled, silencing everyone as they stared at me in shock.

"Glad I have your attention! Jesus Christ you boys are acting like this is a big deal when in truth: this is the least of your problems. What Clyde is playing with is something that can't be controlled: it turns every living thing it touches into German Zombies that will stop at nothing until they've torn you to shreds. To make matters worse: we have an entire FACTION of the military on our doorstep that will have loads of fun using you for target practice. When are you all going to realize this isn't a GAME anymore?! You think 'oh this is fun! Let's see what happens when I play with toxic waste from space: nothing can POSSIBLY go wrong.' When the truth is: that stuff can create things not even your worst nightmares can imagine." I said as Kyle jumped down from his position and walked over to me: giving my shoulder a pat when he got close enough as I watched as everyone took in what I said and began looking at each other nervously.

"Commander MacManus has a point: whether we are human or elf isn't going to matter ONE BIT if Zaron is taken over by both German Zombies and rogue military! You all SAW what that green stuff does, which is why we MUST stop Clyde before there isn't a world left to fight IN." Kyle stated as Stan stood from his seat and raised his hand. "Even IF we joined forces, we don't have enough warriors." he said as Kyle nodded before glancing at me. "So we recruit more factions: the pirates, the federation and-the Girls." he said, making me gag at the thought of being in the same room as those two-faced bitches.

"Kyle the girls aren't going to want to fucking play with us." Eric said as I shrugged off Kyle's hand and walked a few steps away from him. "No offence, but I want absolutely NOTHING to do with a pack of deceiving bitches that tried to kill me: thank you very much." I said as he seemed to take my reasoning into account before Stan once again decided to speak. "Yeah dude, we can't convince girls to do this." he said, making Eric laugh his ass off as a vein in my forehead twitched in annoyance. 'Oh…hell no, he did NOT just forget I was here.' I thought as I calmly walked over to him and smacked him upside his head: knocking his helmet off his head as he fell on his face with a surprised yelp.

"Dude, what the hell?!" he snapped as I knelt down and glared at him. "If you can't convince 'girls' to play: then what the hell am I doing here?" I questioned, making him gulp with a nervous laugh. "Oh shit, my bad Saphira. I meant the other girls: not you, you're cool." he said as I nodded with a grin before I let him get up. "Damn right." I said as I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at Eric until he stopped laughing. "Taking this into consideration, we don't need the girls to make our combined army strong: Saphira has a power we've yet to understand. Her ability to fight and combined with what she revealed to Stan and I: I'm more than convinced she alone is more than enough to bring both Clyde's Army of Darkness and kingdom to their knees. The Prophecy has come true: the Savior has come at last, this war between our races will soon be over." Kyle said as everyone turned to look at me in a mixture of awe, fear, and jealousy.

Alex however, rapidly shook his head and glared viciously at me: warning me not to do anything that would make this situation worse. 'Well, guess what little brother: the worst has only just begun. If I don't do this now and get them used to it, it would cause pandemonium when I really need them to understand.' I thought as I nodded my confirmation to Kyle's claim. "It's true: I do. Even though I hate it with everything that I am: the reason why people hate me, why I can't swim, and why the military is here. With how things are right now: I have no choice but to show each and every one of you why people are after me. I ask that you don't panic because I won't hurt you, as well as hope that you'll continue to be my friends, despite what I am." I said as I turned around from Alex's scathing look and walked over to Kyle's 'stage' before turning around to look each of my friends in the eye in turn.

I never wanted to bring this up to anyone, but like my dad said: this was an emergency, and therefore, I was allowed to show my abilities…I just hoped to every entity out there that things wouldn't change between myself and my friends: even though I knew deep inside that that wish of mine was futile.


	47. Chapter 47

As soon as my boots made contact with the wooden 'stage', I took a deep breath to calm my racing nerves as I gathered the courage to do what I had to. "Before I go on, do any of you have any questions?" I asked, turning my attention to Token as he raised his hand in the air. "Yes, Token?" I asked as I waited for his question. "We already sort of knew you weren't normal like the rest of us, and now: Kyle says you have a power we don't understand. So, what exactly are you?" he asked as everyone had their eyes glued to me as they anxiously waited for my reply.

'This is it: it's now or never.' I thought as I bit my lip before deciding that there was no turning back now as I stared at the kids in front of me. "To put it simply: I'm a shapeshifter. I can turn into anyone or anything: but there ARE rules: rules that are too disturbing to explain. No, I can't turn into one of you without playing by those rules so don't ask me to. I was experimented on and given these 'abilities' by a scientific facility called Gentek by my parent's request: I am a weapon that can either save the world or destroy it, which is why those soldiers were at the school last night. Stan and Kyle know the rest of how I came to be what I am now, and I'd rather not explain it again and give you all nightmares, so don't ask me to do that either." I said as they either stared at me in disbelief, or like I was crazy.

"That's bullshit! People can't do that: and even if they could, how come YOU are the one that gets to do it?! If you're really what you say you are…then prove it right now: change into something!" the elven Commander demanded as he stood from his seat: jealous rage burning in his green eyes. "Okay." I said seriously, surprising the kid as he probably expected me to give up the charade and say it was all a joke. Closing my eyes, I focused on every detail of what I wanted to turn into before the biomass began eating away at my costume and features: causing the kids to pretty much lose their shit at the sight of the black-cherry and glowing red virus as it engulfed my entire form in a writhing mass of bio-organic vines.

Once the change was complete, the virus retreated…revealing the form I chose to become, clear for everyone to see. Instead of a nine-year-old, they now stared at a fully-grown black panther with burning emerald eyes. My fur was a shiny ebony-black with darker spots that almost looked blue in the sunlight, my paws were the size of dinner plates with five razor-sharp claws hidden inside my toes. My body was lean and muscular with a long whip-like tail swishing slowly behind me.

The cold Colorado breeze was making the long dark whiskers on my face twitch along with my small fluffy ears. My belly had turned an ash-gray and my legs had become double-jointed: like any big cat. My nose had flattened and turned a soft, midnight-black color that was able to pick up smells a human normally wouldn't be able to. Getting tired of standing, I leaned back and sat on my haunches as my tail curled around all four of my legs and 'thumped' softly against the wooden platform. With a feline yawn: I exposed my three-inch long canine teeth and my Velcro-like tongue as I waited patiently for the shock to wear off my friends.

'Well…this is awkward.' I thought as the silence seemed to stretch on forever, before shockingly: Tweek grew some balls and shakenly stood from his seat. "N-NICE…nrrgh…KITTY!" he spazzed, making my ears flatten at the loud noise but waited for him to come to me. It took a ridiculous amount of time, but when Tweek finally came within touching distance: I stood up and gave his shaking, out-stretched hand a lick.

Even though I grimaced at the taste of coffee, I continued to reassure Tweek I was in control and wasn't going to bite him as he twitched violently before petting me like a housecat. "Holy…fucking…shit." Eric said, not really knowing what to say as the fear and shock stuck to the boys like a neon sign. Since Tweek was getting braver the longer he saw I wasn't doing anything to him: Kenny and Butters stood from their seats on shaky legs and approached me too. As soon as they put their hands on me, I raised my chin up and started purring: drawing a laugh out of each of them.

"Yeah, there's a buddy." Butters said as he gave my ears a scratch: causing my back foot to twitch and kick. 'Whatever way to help them cope with this works for me: even if it's embarrassing as hell, I mean come ON: twitchy foot and purring?!' I thought in distain as one-by-one the kids got up from their seats and started petting me, until none but Eric remained in the chairs. "Saphira…dude, you are officially the most badass friend ever." Stan said, making me chuff and bump my forehead into him: using feline body language because I couldn't talk in this form.

Glancing at Eric, I noticed he was still frozen in his seat: making me stand up and stalked toward him through the snow with feline grace: my solid-black fur a sharp contrast to the pure, fresh snow on the grass. It wasn't until I was three feet in front of him did he react: and unlike the other kids, he scrambled away from me like I was going to eat him or something: the kind of reaction I expected from them in the first place. It hurt to watch him swing his staff at me, but all I had to do was snatch the stick in my teeth and pull it from his shaking grip.

With flattened ears, I watched as he cried in terror and tried to use one of the metal folding chairs as a weapon, only to have me jump to the side as he threw it at me while crying for his mother. "Cartman, dude! That's Saphira! She isn't going to eat you." Stan yelled, trying to get through to the fat kid as he fell backwards on his ass and scooched away until he came into contact with the side of the house. Swishing my tail, I carefully approached him again as he pulled off his hat and tried to hide behind it: ignoring how the icy ground was making my paw-pads turn numb as I walked in the snow.

'If this situation wasn't as serious as it is, I'd use this shit as blackmail.' I thought as I quickly lunged forward and snatched Eric's hat: pissing him off and making him completely forget about his fear as I tossed it into the air and caught it on top of my head: making me look like a giant witch's cat. "Hey you bitch! That's MY hat!" he yelled as he stood back up and tried to grab his hat back, only to have me narrow my eyes at him and raise my head out of his reach. "Now this is blackmail material." I heard from behind me as well as multiple voices laughing.

"EY! FUCK YOU KAHL!" Eric shouted as he tried to grab his hat again as I tossed it and grabbed it in my teeth again. "God dammit MacManus! Give me my fucking hat!" he snarled as I turned around and bounded several feet away from him before turning back around and crouched low to the snowy ground. 'You want it, come and get it.' I thought as I narrowed my emerald eyes daringly, my tail swishing slowly to the sides tauntingly as Eric glared at me before jumping at the hat in my mouth: only to get a face full of snow as I leapt to the side and out of his reach.

"Son of a bitch!" he growled as everyone laughed their asses off at him: some even falling over on themselves as he tried time and again to get his hat from me…only to fail miserably each time. 'Okay, fun time's over.' I thought as I gripped the hat tighter in my teeth before running in a gallop, leapt into the air, and climbed up the tree effortlessly with my sharp claws. Once I got past the treehouse and to the very top, I tangled Eric's hat in the branches before jumping on the roof of Kyle's treehouse.

"Good luck getting your hat back, Cartman." Kenny laughed as I stretched before laying on the roof of the treehouse with my right front paw dangling over the side as I lounged with a smug look on my face. "No Kitty! That's a BAD KITTY!" Eric yelled in a whiny voice as he hopped up and down on the ground at the base of the tree: as if that would somehow get his hat to fall. Glancing down at the boys, I sent Kenny a one-eyed wink before 'thumping' a nearby branch with my tail lazily: sending the mound of collected snow to drop from the tree and land directly on top of the Grand Wizard.

Panting while chuffing, I gave my own version of a laugh as the boys rolled on the ground holding their sides as the sound of hysterical laughter rang throughout the backyard. As he fought his way out of the snow, he choked and sputtered as he threw curses at me left and right: demanding me to 'respect his authoritay' as well as return him his hat as I gave one more feline stretch before ordering the virus to change my form back. As I once again became cloaked in biomass, I cracked my back before leaning over the edge of the roof and stared at Eric's pissed-off face.

"What's that? I'm afraid I can't hear you!" I called to him, making his face turn purple in rage as he stamped his feet and kicked the snow in anger. "I said: GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING HAT YOU FUCKIN' BITCH!" he screamed, scaring away songbirds and passerby alike: to which I laughed at. "Only if you don't call me a monster anymore." I bribed, snickering as he grumbled before reluctantly agreeing without looking me in the face. 'May as well: not like I'm going to get much better from him anyway.' I thought as I stood up and gave the tree a good, solid kick: shaking the entire tree and freeing the hat from its trapped state.

Jumping forward in a quick front-flip, I snatched the hat before twisting my body like a gymnast and landed at the base of the tree in a crouch: swelling with pride at the awe-struck looks on the boys' faces as I handed Eric his hat back. Snatching it rudely from my grip, he slammed it back down on his head before glaring at us as we laughed at the pouty expression on his face. "Fuck you guys." he growled as he slumped back down in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest: grumbling about 'teeth marks' in his hat I knew I didn't leave. "Now that THAT'S out of the way: I'd like to also point out that the military that are guarding this 'Taco Bell' are working with the group that's after me. And since I can literally turn into anyone, they will most-likely treat any one of you like they would treat me." I said, nodding slightly as some of the kids put two-and-two together and gulped nervously: while Butters started cheering and clapping his hands.

"Oh boy! Isn't that neat fellas? The military is gonna treat us super-duper nice! Maybe they'll give us free cake and ice cream and cancel bedtime for all of us! That's what they're gonna do right, Saphira? Treat us nice, like how you're nice?" he asked with a hopeful look on his face as a twinge of pain raced through me as I imagined how they would treat poor Butters.

Swallowing, I turned from the sweet kid and refused to make eye-contact with everybody as I heard footsteps walk up next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Kenny cocking his head at me before resting a gloved hand on my shoulder and led me away from the rest of the kids: both of us flipping off Eric as he starting laughing and making obnoxious gagging noises. Once we were out of earshot of everyone, I wiped my eyes with a sniff before looking out the back gate and at the houses my friends lived in.

"I should never have come here. If I didn't, you guys would have been safe from the true meaning of evil." I mumbled as Kenny sent me a pitying look before glancing down at his feet. "But then we wouldn't have known you. So what if you showed up with problems? Everybody has those: but not everybody has a friend like you: I mean, how many people can do the things you do and actually takes time out of their days to have friends like us?." he said as he gave me a hug before smacking me upside my head to snap me out of my dark cloud.

"Dude: that's some deep shit, and people say you're perverted and goofy. I'm surprised you're not trying to 'woo' me as Stan and Kyle so-lovely put it." I said as his face scrunched up before sending a leer in the boys' direction. "I can be respectful when I want to be, besides: you're out of my league and I can respect that. Doesn't mean I'd leave you alone though." he said with a flirtatious wink: making me laugh and playfully shove him aside as he turned around and held his hands to his heart in an overly-dramatic gesture.

As the rest of the kids behind us continued to plan against Clyde and his army, my attention was suddenly stolen by an ominous, low-rumbling sound in the distance. I may not know very much about the outside world, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what was making that noise…or figure out that the source was getting closer.


	48. Chapter 48

With a horrified look on my face, I tore myself away from Kenny and hauled ass back over to the rest of the boys. 'They have to know! They need to get out of here!' I thought frantically as Kyle took his place back on his 'stage' and addressed the armies of both races. "I'll deal with the remaining factions, the rest of you return to your stations and prepare for war." he said as everyone raised a fist and gave a war-cry: just as I skidded to a stop at the front of the group.

"There's no time for that now! You guys gotta go!" I yelled as everybody turned to me in confusion. "Nobody here needs a bathroom break MacManus, stop being such a girl." Eric scoffed as I fought the urge to tear my hair out at his stupidity. "No you idiots! They're coming! You HAVE to go!" I cried, making everyone freeze as the realization of what I meant finally clicked in their minds: causing the backyard to erupt in panic and rapid questions.

Before anyone could find a place to hide or move to escape, Kyle's backyard became swarmed with Blackwatch soldiers: weapons drawn and more-than-ready to be used. 'Please god: don't let them have itchy trigger-fingers.' I prayed fearfully as the Commander of the large squad of fifteen stomped forward and glared at us from behind his gasmask. "Alright ass-wipes: on the ground and nobody gets a bullet in their pretty little heads!" he ordered as his lackeys forced us on our knees and roughly cuffed our hands behind our backs.

From where I was pinned, I saw Tweek being forced in the snow almost directly next to me, poor kid looked like he was one of those toys that shivered non-stop when you pulled on it. And it didn't help that the soldier pinning him was taunting him and giving him all kinds of death-threats if he didn't hold still. "Hey! Leave him alone asshole!" I snarled as I tried to get free from my captors and help poor Tweek before he either got killed or put himself into a catatonic coma. "Shut up brat!" the one holding me said as he stomped on my back with his boot, making me yelp in pain as I tried to force the virus to keep still so they would think I was normal.

"Let's go! Captain Cross wants all captives transported to Containment-Zone Four." the Commander ordered as the soldiers effortlessly picked up our crying and struggling forms and carried us out of the yard and threw us in the back of a Marine transport vehicle. As the Blackwatch soldiers climbed into their own convoy vehicle, a squad of Marines climbed in the back of the vehicle: causing everyone (especially Alex) to huddle as far away from them as possible. "What the-hey Cooper! These are just kids, the fuck are we doing transporting them to the Containment Zone?! They all look fine to me." one of the Marines questioned as he took us in: only to get shoved by his CO.

"You're a real piece of work Private Johnson! Didn't you hear Blackwatch?! This thing (whatever the fuck it is) can change its shape to look like anyone! Are you REALLY willing to risk every civilian in this town by letting this thing run wild?!" another Marine snapped, causing the first to eye us warily before agreeing and took his seat as we began moving. As we traveled into downtown, I saw many squads of Blackwatch troops, Blackwatch choppers, Military Tanks, Combat Jeeps and Gentek officials herding everyone in town toward the Community Center: mercilessly shooting those who fought back or tried to escape.

"Ninja three-three this is Shogun, how copy?" a voice on one of the Marine's radios questioned as the boys closest to me kept glancing fearfully between the soldiers and me. 'Don't even think about telling. If you do, the shit will hit the fan a hell of a lot quicker than you could run.' I thought as I discretely shook my head at them: warning them NOT to say a single word. "Ballista one-one is Oscar Mike, ETA two minutes. Maintaining current course, over." the Marine that pitied us earlier replied into the radio as I leaned to the side and nudged Tweek with my elbow to get the hyperventilating kid's attention.

"Don't worry, it isn't you they want. You have nothing to be afraid of, okay?" I whispered quietly to him and returned to my original sitting position as he rapidly nodded while he fought to control his spasms. Apparently, the rest of the boys heard what I said and tried to control their fear too as Alex moved as close to me as he could as a pair of Marines leaned forward so they could speak without having to yell over the sound of the vehicle's loud engine. "Why are we even doing this? We're supposed to be peacekeepers handling panicking civilians and shit. Give this cattle-herding bullshit to fucking Blackwatch." one of them said in distain while the other sent a pitying look in our direction before replying to his friend.

"Man, you want to leave a transport mission to those fuckin' baby-killers?! They'd just as soon blow this town and everyone in it to kingdom come!" he replied, making me gulp as the rest of the kids started trembling something fierce as they imagined what could've happened if those Blackwatch soldiers were riding with us instead of these guys. "Yeah yeah I heard that, man. Take a look at how lucky these kids are right now: if Blackwatch was here, they'd accuse all of 'em of being the thing they want." said another Marine from further away as we approached the Community Center: where the once-peaceful meeting place had been turned into a full-blown apocalyptic nightmare.

Patrols of Blackwatch and Gentek personnel were lining people up and scanning them for signs of the virus before shoving them into the building: where I could only imagine the nightmares waiting inside. As the vehicle came to a stop, the Marines got out first: before two male Gentek scientists approached the back of the truck. "Damn, we got a group of kids." one of them mumbled to the other as they set down a step-stool for us to use to get down. "Fuck this virus: if it hadn't been created, no: if that fucking MacManus hadn't escaped, we wouldn't be doing this!" the other growled before gesturing for us to go to them. 'If only you bastards knew I am right here.' I thought before I stood up and walked over to them with a vicious glare on my face: leading the way as the boys fearfully followed.

"Alright form a line! C'mon, we don't have all day." they ordered as they began scanning us with a portable machine. "Why are you guys doing this?! We haven't done anything wrong!" Stan pleaded, only to be ignored as they scanned me just as I ordered the virus to retreat: fooling that stupid little machine into giving a false-reading of negative. Once a cursing and pissed-off Eric had been scanned, we were roughly shoved into the Community Center with the rest of the surviving residents of the town as our handcuffs were removed. As I rubbed my aching wrists, I watched as the kids sprinted off in search of their parents and families as Alex glues himself to my side.

"Come on Little Bit, let's find mom and dad." I said as I picked him up and carried him through the crowd of crying and shouting people. Discretely using my sonar, I found my parents standing close to a pair of rather dirty people: one of which I had seen before and assumed to be Kenny's mom. Pushing my way through the crowd, I came face-to-face with my parents as my mom rushed at us and engulfed us in a sobbing hug. Letting go of me, she took Alex and held his sniffling form to her as my dad glared icily at me before viciously yanking me to him by the front of my costume.

"Now see what you've done?! You've led them RIGHT to us, after all we've done to ensure our escape! Take a good look around, you monster: all these people are going to DIE because of you." he hissed before angrily shoving me away from the rest of my family, sending me on my ass on the cold floor before leaving me to send them a kicked-puppy look before standing up and turning away and disappearing into the crowd. It took all I had not to break into a sobbing mess as I took in the petrified faces of all the innocent people around me: people that didn't deserve an ounce of what was most-likely about to happen to them. As I found a semi-secluded spot near the back of the crowd, I about jumped out of my skin as a hand grabbed hold of my right arm.

Whirling around, I let out a strained sigh of relief when I saw Kenny standing behind me. Even though I couldn't see all of his face, I could still see the fear and concern in his eyes as the doors that led out slammed shut. Without a word, I gripped my best friend in a bear-hug as the fear of every memory came rushing back like a tidal wave. It wasn't until I peeked my teary eyes open did I notice a little girl around Alex's age holding onto Kenny's tattered parka in a trembling death-grip. I didn't even notice Kenny giving me an equally-tight hug in return: all I saw was the Blackwatch Captain walking up to the podium at the front of the overly-crowded room.

As if he knew I wasn't paying attention to his comforting words anymore, Kenny let go and looked in the direction of Captain Cross as he leaned into the microphone: catching the entire room's attention. "Residents of South Park Colorado, there is a monster in your midst." he began, causing the adults to erupt in outrage and terror before Cross' Lieutenant: Lieutenant Riley fired a shot into the ceiling: effectively shutting them up. "This creature escaped custody several months ago, fortunately: we have tracked it here. However, it can change its form into any living thing: a shapeshifter, if that's what you wish to call this abomination." Captain Cross continued, making a low growl rumble in my chest at the name as the virus started twitching under my costume.

"Calm. Down." Kenny hissed in my ear as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye before forcing myself to relax. "Fortunately, we have the entire town in this one building: making the retrieval job that much easier. Lieutenant Riley has personally re-wired the sprinkler system into releasing our special formula instead of water. This formula is called Bloodtox: named for its red color and the blood-like gel it becomes in a liquid form. It was designed to combat the Blacklight virus: the very creature that had escaped and eluded capture. To a human, it's perfectly harmless: so harmless in fact, that each and every one of you have been breathing it in since you have entered this room." Cross continued, making my eyes widen as I whimpered in fear as my throat started having a tickled feeling. 'No! Please not this! Anything but THIS!' I thought as I held my gloved hand to my mouth and let out a near-silent cough.

"To our Target, well…just imagine what happens to a frog as it's dipped in acid." Riley said with sickening glee as people left and right looked at each other nervously as they probably did just that. Glaring through squinted eyes at the blood-red mist, my coughing started getting harsher as Kenny looked at me in concern at first: then in full blown panic. "Saphira please! Stop coughing!" he practically begged as I started coughing louder: causing people to start turning around to stare at us. "I *cough* can't!" I hacked as I pulled my glove far enough away from me not only to try to breathe, but also see that my palm had been stained red as my coughing-fit eventually caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"All units: Target is in sight! Repeat! Target is in sight!" Cross yelled as all the Blackwatch squads charged through the double-doors: giving me just enough time to sprint past them in a black and red blur. "Stop her!" one of the Commanders ordered as his men started shooting me: stalling my escape just long enough for one of Gentek's super-solders called D-bags to snatch me around the neck with a heavy-duty catchpole. With a screech, I fought and tried to escape through blind eyes as another pair of D-bags sprayed me in the face with Bloodtox-filled fire extinguishers. Soon enough though, the poisonous gas rendered me unable to move or defend myself as large, thick iron cuffs were placed around my arms, legs, hands, and feet as large and heavy chains hogtied my limbs behind my back.

"Took you Hunter fodder long enough! I wanted THIS-" the lead D-bag paused to kick me savagely in the ribs with his steel-toed boots, making me squeak in agony as I felt several ribs shatter beneath my body suit and skin. "Contained several days ago! Load it up in the transport and get it out of here: McMullen is losing his patience." he continued to growl at the Gentek scientists and Blackwatch soldiers as I helplessly watched them lift my bound form up and literally throw me in a container similar to the one they delivered the Hunter in, giving me just enough time to see my outraged and crying friends trying to get them to let me go before the door to my prison slammed shut and locked.

'Well…it was fun while it lasted I guess. Too bad it had to end this way, I was really starting to like some of you.' I thought in surrender as the heartless bastards gassed me again through the container's ventilation system: rendering me unconscious and oblivious to wherever the hell they were taking me: though when it came to Blackwatch and Gentek…everything's hell.


	49. Chapter 49

The first thing I noticed as I started regaining my senses was that I couldn't move at all. The second was the smell of metal and blood: which wasn't a pleasant combo. The third and most noticeable thing was this god-awful migraine that felt as if a Hunter was trying to claw its way out of my skull. With a pained hiss, I squinted my eyes open, only to immediately shut them again as a blinding white light assaulted my vision.

Once I had my bearings, I tried again and found I was pinned to a metal table in a large metal room that looked like a surgery area. 'Great, what have they done to me NOW?' I wondered in distain as I twisted the cramps out of my neck and tried to figure out a way to get out of my restraints. "How many times must we go over this doc? No man should have survived this, the virus should've made her into a screeching, slobbering, freak of nature. Which is why you're going to butcher this thing and find out WHY." a voice from somewhere above me snarled, who after a few seconds I recognized as Colonel Rooks: a Blackwatch leader that was almost as big of a douchebag as Captain Cross.

'So, they've sent their loyal dogs to retrieve, have they? Well, the only thing they are going to be retrieving is an ass-whooping.' I thought with a humorless smirk as I went back to listening to the conversation going on above me. "And if you don't like the results Colonel Rooks, what then?" the voice that made chills run marathons up and down my spine questioned as I suddenly tried even harder to break free of my Titanium bonds. "MacManus is once again Gentek's property now. Things go sour: you burn the room, simple as that." the Colonel replied nonchalantly, as if he were talking about the weather, making me grit my teeth in anger.

'You certainly grew a pair of balls now that I can't move, but I wonder if that will change once I rip your guts out.' I growled to myself as my body suit writhed and wriggled as I tried to find a weakness in my restraints without alerting my captors. "Burn the…NO! Absolutely not! I don't know if you brainless imbeciles have noticed, but this specimen is priceless! She could be the answer to the future of science." McMullen protested in outrage as the sounds of items crashing to the floor sounded where their voices where coming from. "The Colonel said burn it. That's what you're going to do, YOU created this mess: you're going to clean it up." a cocky voice snarled, making an animalistic growl dominate my voice box as I recognized the owner immediately.

'Lieutenant Riley. Of course you had to join in the fun: what? Did the Higher-Ups get tired of you kissing their ass?' I thought as I had flashbacks of the man that gave the term 'asshole' a whole new definition: and all of them brutal that bordered on the extreme. Because let's just say, in Riley's book: if you weren't human, (and even if you were): you step out of line or even breathe without being commanded, he would get creative with his punishments. Hitting me in the head with a sledgehammer was a personal favorite pastime of his.

"I will not be reprimanded by the likes of you two! It's time to begin." McMullan said as the room above me went quiet as a 'whirring' noise filled the room before all of my restraints suddenly retreated, letting me slide off the table and drop to the floor. 'Christ, what did they do?! I feel drunk.' I thought as I shook the dizziness away and staggered to my feet and took in my surroundings. "Since ZEUS has been on its own for quite some time, we should reassess its abilities. Something simple at first, a mere survival stimulus." McMullen said through a speaker, as if I couldn't already hear what he was talking about. 'So I'm back to being a Gladiator…lovely.' I thought with distain as I glared harshly at the trio staring down at me from behind a large glass window.

'Very well Gentek, I'll play along.' I thought as my attention was drawn to a large metal door rising upwards: revealing a dozen or so infected humans that appeared to be starving. With a sigh, I cracked my back before allowing my body suit to reveal itself from my torn-up and destroyed Commander's costume. With ear-piercing shrieks, the infected humans staggered and sprinted at me, oblivious to the planetary gaps in power. Meeting them half-way, I punched the lead infected in the face, breaking its jaw and making it backflip into the air before I landed a swift kick to its chest as it fell back down: making it blow backwards and crash into its friends at supersonic speed. The force was enough to split all of them apart as they smashed into different sides of their holding pen.

"This is your ONE warning, let me out of here before I rip you apart!" I snarled at their surprised faces before the pair of Blackwatch soldiers turned to McMullen with agitated looks on their faces. "You have what you need, Doctor McMullen?" Rooks questioned as the man in question looked at him in annoyance. "We must learn all we can about the subject, Colonel. Who knows what she has learned since her escape!" he protested as he opened two more doors: these containing more infected humans as well as a pair of Hunters. 'Well, shit.' I thought as I back-flipped out of the Hunters' reach and focused my attention on the other infected for now.

Dashing at the miniature pack, I spun around and elbowed one of the bigger ones into its buddies before quickly ducking under the smaller Hunter's claws. As it lunged over me, it was fooled into tearing apart the other infected instead of me. 'Good thing they're stupid.' I thought as I changed my left arm into a large, heavy and intimidating shield: just in time to catch the slightly-larger Hunter in the mouth as it tried to bite me while my back was turned. Spinning around, I threw the Hunter into its companion, knocking them both backwards and into the wall.

"The raw data we're collecting is incredible! It's nothing like the previous tests!" McMullen remarked as I flipped over one Hunter and used the momentum to kick the other one into the table that held me captive. With a whine, it shook its massive head before bounding towards me with an enraged snarl, only to have me grab it by its front leg and throw it headfirst into its friend: sending both of them crashing to the floor in a daze. "If you are impressed with this, you should see what I can do once I get out of here." I mumbled to myself as I looked up at the reason for my living nightmare with a malicious sneer.

"That's enough, the creature is too dangerous! Burn it!" Rooks ordered, to the delight of his sadistic Lieutenant and horror of my creator. "Rooks! You can't do that, she's far too valuable to destroy!" McMullen protested, only to be silenced by the Blackwatch Colonel. "You're stepping out of line McMullen, you may have created the PROTOTYPE, but I AM the one in charge here. Lieutenant Riley: hit the switch." Rooks ordered to an ecstatic Riley, who looked like he was a kid going to Disneyworld for Christmas. "Yes sir. Burn order given by Colonel Douglas Rooks, 0223 hours." Riley said as I saw him write something down on a piece of paper before shoving McMullen out of the way and moved to a switch on the wall. 'You sadistic bastard.' I snarled to myself as I glanced from him and over to the pair of Hunters as they staggered to their feet.

Changing my right arm into the Whipfist, I grabbed hold of the large metal door and yanked it shut: trapping the Hunters back into their cage. As I turned back around, I was barely able to cloak myself in hardened biomass just as the room around me became engulfed in fire. Though the flames themselves didn't hurt much, they still gave my body suit a charred look as I quickly dropped to the floor as the flames disappeared. "Get Clean-Up and Recovery in there. Make sure it's dead this time." Rooks ordered as I lay on the floor, playing dead just as the door to the exit opened and sealed again. "Damn you Colonel, this is no place for your inconsiderate acts of barbarism!" McMullen snapped as the sound of someone being punched reached my ears.

"Don't get sanctimonious with me you fucking ghoul. I've read your experiment reports on this thing." Rooks retaliated in a no-nonsense tone as the footsteps came closer. Judging by the sound: there were two Blackwatch soldiers approaching me warily, as they very well should. 'That's right…keep coming. Just a little closer.' I thought with malice as I was suddenly roughly kicked in the ribs by the one on my left. "No signs of life sir." the one who kicked me reported like the obedient dog he was. "Make sure, I don't need this abomination escaping again." Rooks commanded as the one on my right lifted his Assault Rifle and shot me three times in the face and several times in the chest.

'Why do they always go for the face?!' I thought in dismay as I struggled to keep still and keep the virus from healing the new injuries: to further keep up the act. 'Okay, enough of this shit.' I thought as I suddenly lunged forward and knocked my assailant's weapon out of his hands before jumping up on his shoulders. "S-SHIT!" he cried as he tried to shake me off while his partner tried to shoot me off. "Send your friends my regards." I growled before thrusting my clawed hand through the back of his skull, sending dark-red blood, bone and brain matter through his shattered gas mask before allowing the virus to travel through my arm and dissolve the soldier's body: consuming him in a matter of seconds and healing my wounds.

"Hello." I said cutely to the remaining soldier, who apparently shit himself in terror. "S-Stay back you! I-I mean it!" he stuttered at he raised his shaking gun at me. "Oh, I'm sure you do: thing is, I really don't care." I said nonchalantly as I calmly walked over to him until he trapped himself against one of the metal doors. "Get away from me! OH GOD, HELP ME!" he screamed as he dropped his weapon and curled into a ball on the floor as I came to a stop a few feet away from him. With a wicked smirk, I pulled my hood up over my head: shadowing everything from my nose up in thick, black shadows until nothing but my glowing orange eyes could be seen.

Dashing forward with blinding speed, I snatched hold of the cowardly soldier by the collar of his vest: loving his near-constant trembles of terror as I gave him an evil toothy grin before throwing him forward through the air. As his shrieks ran through the metal room, I watched as he literally crashed through the large metal door and right into the jaws of the trapped Hunters: where the sounds of crunching and feasting sounded soon after. Cocking my head to the side, I glared at McMullen as well as the other two from under my hood, just as Rooks regained his composure as he started throwing orders at Riley and the scientist.

"Damnit! Release all specimen groups! Do it NOW!" I heard him say as Riley shoved McMullen to the side and rapidly starting throwing switches and pushing buttons as all the doors in the room slowly opened. Turning my attention to them, I narrowed my eyes at at least sixty infected humans and a total of five Hunters: the largest of which was the size of a SUV and was covered in savage-looking scars, broken shackles around its ankles, and seemed to be blind in one eye on account of a large, deep scar that traveled over its eye and ended at the base of its neck.

This Hunter almost dwarfed the others: as if it had been crossbred with something else, but it also could've been the fact that the other Hunters were small: about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Keeping my eyes on the Alpha, I waited for it to lunge at me before I changed both my arms into the Hammerfist and grabbed both of its jaws, halting its pounce in an instant. Tightening my grip, I twisted my arms before letting go: sending the Hunter spinning off its feet and landing on its back across the room. Leaping after it, I put all my weight on its chest and used my tendrils to pin its thrashing limbs away from me.

With a solid punch, I silenced its snaps and snarls as I glared viciously into its single eye with an unblinking stare. After several seconds the Hunter whined and stopped thrashing as I got off of it: never breaking eye contact as I did so. Watching the Hunter as it rolled over, I was pleased as it stopped growling and lowered its head at me while staring at the floor: acknowledging the fact that I was stronger than it and was to be obeyed without question. Witnessing this, the smaller, weaker Hunters backed away and stared at the floor as I turned around and walked between them. 'Let's see how you bastards like this.' I thought with a smirk as I glanced at the smaller Hunters before pointing at the screaming infected: sending all four of them charging for the targets in a merciless and messy wolf-pack fashion.

"Shit! Holy shit! They're obeying her! Kill them all! Burn the room!" Rooks yelled as I turned my attention to them for a second before running over to the table and ripped it from the floor with a metallic shriek. "Hey! Blackwatch! Heads up!" I called as I effortlessly lifted the table above my head and looked up at the glass window that the cowards hid behind. "Oh shit!" Riley yelled fearfully as the Hunters finished their task and slowly paced behind me with wide, drooling mouths. Throwing the table, I watched as the glass window was obliterated: leaving nothing to protect the pitiful excuses for humans from me: not like it was doing anything to do so in the first place.

"Okay! You fuckin' come up here! COME ON!" Riley challenged from where he stood with his weapon pointed at me. "Your wish is my command." I replied sarcastically as I jumped from where I stood and into the room above like a grasshopper. As both Rooks and Riley shot at me, I let out a bored yawn before setting my glowing orange eyes at them in a bloodthirsty stare. With a maniacal sneer, I lunged forward in a black and red blur and punched Rooks in the stomach: separating him from his weapon as he smashed into the opposite wall.

"Colonel!" Riley yelled as I turned my attention to him. "You know, it's almost ironic: you beat an innocent kid for fun, now you get to have the favor returned! Isn't that great!" I said cheerfully as Riley ran out of bullets, his gun making an obnoxious 'clicking' noise as he continued to try to shoot me: which already was a waste of time. "You stay the FUCK away from me!" he snarled as he drew an impressive-looking hunting knife that was nearly a foot long. "Now where would the fun in THAT be? You never listened to ME when I said the same thing to you, now did you?" I said as I changed my left arm into the Whipfist and snatched hold of Riley's foot and pulled it out from under him before he could move to attack me.

Once he was down, I pounced on him and sank my claws into him: making a loud, bloodcurdling scream echo in the small control room. Watching him bleed for a while, I leaned forward so my orange eyes stared into his pain-filled brown ones. "Let this be a message to you and the rest of your piece of shit Military branch: you fuck with me, and I'll personally make sure that your end is most unpleasant." I snarled in his face as I changed both my arms into the Blades: snipping him in two like a pair of scissors to a piece of string. Once he was out of the way, I turned my attention back to Rooks as he started to come out of the daze I gave him.

Picking him up by his vest, I watched him struggle in amusement as he tried everything he could to escape. As soon as he spotted Riley however, his efforts tripled as he was overcome by rage at the loss of his Lieutenant and friend. "Riley! You fucking cunt! How dare you?! I'll kill you for this!" he swore as he threw his legs out to try to get me to release my death-grip on him. "Yeah…no you won't. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that, and guess what? I'm still here." I said in a bored tone, which only pissed him off even more as his face turned a deep-purple in rage as he snorted and grunted like an angry bull. "Do your worst, monster! I do NOT fear death!" he snarled as I let out a short laugh before composing myself. "No. But you will." I said as I sent him a friendly wink before letting him go with a minor shove: sending the Blackwatch Colonel stumbling backwards and over the edge of the room I was in just minutes ago.

Even from up here, my sensitive ears picked up the clear sound of his legs snapping as he hit the floor. Glancing over the edge, I watched as Colonel Rooks scooched himself back against the wall as the pack of five Hunters slowly surrounded him before a single growl from the Alpha started the worst possible death for the Blackwatch Colonel as limbs, organs, armor and everything else was strewn around the room as his screams echoed for a second before the sound of gurgling blood replaced his last words.

'Now then, where did you go?' I wondered as I looked around for McMullen, only to find the exit door open and him missing. "Shit! That was my chance to end this! Oh well, now that he knows I'm here, he won't go far." I said to myself as I prepared myself for the undoubtedly long trip back to South Park and to finally become the Savior everyone needed me to be.


	50. Chapter 50

After searching around the bloodied control room for a few minutes, I decided on ripping a thick, heavy duty chain from around a bunch of crates before jumping back down into the burning metal room I was trapped in. Glancing around, I was satisfied to find that only a puddle of blood and a few chips of bone were all that remained of Colonel Rooks. 'Good riddance.' I thought with a grunt before approaching the scarred Alpha again, aware of how the others backed away from me and gave me space.

Snapping my fingers, the Alpha approached me obediently before lowering its head as it waited for me to give it a command. Taking an end of the thick chain, I looped it through the gaps in the burned biomass in the back of the Hunter's glowing mouth behind its broken and stained teeth. Tossing that end over its large, muscular shoulders, I did the same thing with the other end until the chain looped through its mouth and rested on its back.

Looking into the Hunter's black and red eye, I walked over to its side and climbed up on its back, holding onto its shoulders as it gave a surprised snarl and shook itself. Changing my arms into the Musclemass, I grabbed hold of the heavy silver chain tightly and used it to turn the Hunter's head towards the exit door the soldiers came through. Summoning a tendril, I used it to pick up an infected's decapitated head and threw it at the door, hitting a red button on the wall and opened the door to freedom.

Giving the Hunter a slight nudge with the heels of my boots, I commanded it to walk forward and over to the door: the smaller Hunters following behind as I discovered riding a Hunter was like riding a horse: which I had vague memories of. With a slight tug of the chain, I directed the Hunter through another industrial door and out into the open air: where I discovered myself to be in a seemingly-abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Denver.

"Well shit. Looks like this is going to take a while." I said to myself as the Hunter huffed before shifting its weight as it waited for me to give it a command. Using my navigation instinct, I turned the Hunter in the direction of South Park and nudged it into a walk again: amazed beyond words at not only the different shades of green and white of the scenery, but also at the lack of cars and people travelling along the road. "Heh, I wonder how that would go, people seeing a nine year old riding a Hunter down the street." I said to myself with a giggle as I glanced to the sides and found I had two Hunters flanking each of my sides.

Giving the Alpha a pat on its neck, I listened to the clanking of its broken ankle shackles lightly brushing the asphalt with each step it took before looking ahead at the empty road that was empty of cars and seemed to stretch on forever. Staring at the open road, I suddenly had an idea: one that would not only get me home faster, but would also satisfy my craving for freedom, one that I knew I shared with the monster beneath me. 'Alright, let's see how this goes.' I thought before I slightly tightened my grip on the makeshift reigns and gave the Hunter another nudge, making it toss its head up in the air and quicken its pace into a trot.

Even though it was only trotting, I still cringed at the thought of being thrown off as my light body was being shaken and thrown around on the Hunter's back. Regaining control of myself, I moved with the massive creature instead of against it: resulting in a much easier ride as I discovered the other Hunters easily keeping up with the change of speed.

'Even though this is fun, who knows what Gentek and Blackwatch have done to my friends while I was away.' I thought nervously as I once again gave the Alpha another nudge: this one slightly harsher as the beast snorted before picking up the pace into a canter, making the frigid wind whistle through my hood and blow my burgundy hair around. Listening to the other Hunters growl and snort, I wondered what they were saying to each other as we stormed down the empty road and headed in the direction of home. It wasn't until the Alpha snarled under me did I snap out of my daze: only to almost-instantly pick up the smell of smoke and burning flesh.

Fearing the worst, I held on tightly to the chain and gave the Hunter a hard kick in the ribs with a shout: enraging the creature to the point where it bolted forward in a full-blown gallop with a mighty roar. Leaning forward on the monster, I felt the howling wind blow my hood back, allowing my hair to fly behind me like a cape as the smaller Hunters panted and snapped their jaws as they put in the extra effort to keep up with their larger companion.

Riding like a jockey, I continuously urged and demanded the Hunter run faster as multiple images and thoughts of 'what-ifs' plagued my mind as I imagined what those heartless bastards could've done to my friends and town. With another snarl of rage, the Hunter strained its limbs to obey my commands to the point where large chunks of asphalt started flying behind us like dust as the creature's massive bladed claws ripped through the ground.

As we passed a sign that said that South Park was only two miles away, I mumbled an apology to the beast before I used the end of the chain like a whip: making the monster whine before charging as fast as it could run, easily barreling past cars driving seventy miles an hour. Glancing ahead, I started to see the destruction left behind by the people who didn't give two shits about the world they lived in or anyone who lived in it as the Hunter slowed down to catch its breath: making large clouds of steam float up in the air from its bear-trap jaws. Staring down at the town in a mixture of shock and horror, I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing.

The once-quiet mountain town was now hardly anything more than a warzone: buildings and homes were on fire and falling apart, cars and trucks were flipped over as abandoned Military vehicles dominated the streets, crows were happily feasting on the dead as Nazi zombies roamed the abandoned streets. Looking up, I watched as multiple Blackwatch choppers circled the destruction as Marines shot at and were devoured by the German zombies.

As I stared at the dying town, my heart felt like it turned into a rock and dropped to my feet as tears poured from my eyes as I let out uncontrollable sobs of rage and despair as I subconsciously hugged the Hunter's thick, muscular neck. This was all my fault! I caused this! If I had just listened to my father's orders, this wouldn't have happened: nobody would've known what I was and everything would've been normal. But no, I was so obsessed with the idea of freedom that I had completely ignored everything I was told and now: Gentek and Blackwatch have destroyed the town. And my friends…my friends are most-likely either dead, or suffering a fate much worse just because they came into contact with me.

Sinking deeper into depression at the thought, I was brought out of my misery as I was literally almost shoved from the Alpha Hunter's back. Glancing through my hair, I came face-to-teeth with one of the smaller Hunters on my left as it bumped my side with its massive head as it let out a slight growl. Letting go of the Hunter's neck, I sat up and wiped my eyes with my gloved hands with a sniff. Composing myself, I looked around me to find the other four Hunters all staring at me with their black and glowing red eyes before the Alpha shifted its weight and stamped its front feet on the snowy ground.

Glancing down at it, I clenched my jaw before giving a sharp nod as I changed my arms back into the Musclemass before taking hold of the makeshift reigns again. "If you hurt any of my friends Blackwatch, for so help me: you are all going to BEG me to kill you by the time I have finished with you bastards." I snarled to myself before giving the Alpha one good kick to its sides: making it lunge forward and over the edge of the small cliff with a single powerful leap. With a solid landing, I guided the Hunter down the cracked, broken, and flaming streets of the marketplace until I came across the street that led to the park.

Slowing the massive beast to a stop, I combed my windswept hair back out of my face and pulled my hood up so that only my mouth could be seen. Watching as the world around me once again changed to a blend of orange and red, I was able to spot a small group of living people gathering at the large grassy field. Upon closer inspection, I was relieved beyond words to discover the group consisted of my friends: but I would never admit that to them with someone like Eric around, I'd never hear the end of it. Wiping the tears away, I leapt down from the Hunter and walked in front of the pack before turning to them.

"Stay hidden until I order otherwise." I said to the Alpha: who snorted and shook its massive head before it and the rest of them split off in different directions in search of hiding places. Once I was satisfied that they were out of sight of anyone else nearby, I pulled my hood down lower over my face and opened the flaps of my jacket so the grey undershirt and glowing of the jacket's interior could be seen. 'Now, if only a radio was playing Bad to the Bone.' I thought with a smirk as I adjusted my gloves before leaping to the roof of a nearby house and jumped from house to house until I was crouched on a branch in the tree closest to the boys: who were ALL still in costume.

Staring down at them with my glowing orange eyes, I calmly listened in on their conversation as I waited for the perfect time to show myself. "I just don't get it you guys, why would the Military do this?!" Stan said as he nursed a bandage on his arm. "Looks like what Saphira said was true, I feel horrible for not warning people like she warned us. What do you think they did to her after they took her away?" Kyle asked as Eric let out an angry scoff as he played with his staff with bandaged hands. "Probably killed her. They sure as hell didn't have a problem with killing anyone else." he said in an emotion I couldn't place as Kenny turned his back on all of them and appeared to wipe his eyes.

"But why?! Saphira was sweet! She never hurt anybody besides Trent, but that's beside the point! He was going to kill us and that just gives them a reason to…off her?! Just like that?!" Kenny raged with tears in his eyes as he picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could into the frozen wall that surrounded the park: shattering the ice in a loud, echoing explosion. Even though I wanted to jump out of the tree and give him a hug, I held myself back and continued to watch as both the human and elf armies sluggishly prepared themselves for a war: probably against Clyde.

"If it's one person I feel the worst for: it's Alex. That little kid will probably never see his sister again, and their dad had the NERVE to say that the world would be much better off without a monster like her and that he should get over something that was never meant to exist in the first place!" Kyle shouted in a watery voice as he pulled off his hat and jammed it into his eyes, making a low growl rumble in the center of my chest. 'He WHAT?!' I thought in outrage at the thought of my heartbroken baby brother being told such cruel things instead of being comforted like he should have been.

"Even though I will burn my tongue for this later: I agree with the Jew. That was some pretty fucked up shit, and this is coming from me." Eric said, making me almost fall out of the tree: those two actually agreed on something! It was such a shock to me that I actually looked up through the snowy branches of the tree and made sure the sky wasn't falling, which honestly wouldn't surprise me at this point as I decided I had enough hiding, only question was: how to not scare them all to death before the real fun began.


	51. Chapter 51

As I stared intently at them, I eventually had enough of the dark mood so I did the only thing I could think of: I broke a stick. The result was immediate: as soon as the stick snapped, all four of the boys about jumped out of their skin as they frantically looked for the source of the sound.

"What the hell was that?" Stan asked nervously as they slowly stood up from their sitting positions and glanced around the area. "How the hell should I know? I can't see shit." Eric snapped as Kyle smacked him upside his head with a glare. "Well maybe if you took that hat off, maybe your fatass could actually see!" he growled at the Grand Wizard before warily looking around.

"EY! Don't call me fat you fucking Jew!" Eric yelled as he stomped over to Kyle, only to freeze on the spot as his eyes glanced up in my direction. "What's gotten into you?" Kenny asked as Eric started slowly backing away on shaking legs as he stared at me in pure fear. Sending him a sinister smirk, I held back a laugh as his eyes widened before he discovered he couldn't back away anymore as his back bumped into another tree.

Curious as to what had him so freaked out, Stan turned around to see what Eric was looking at: only to pale as blank as the snow as he too backed away in fear. "K-Kyle…w-what is black, red, has glowing orange eyes and is in the t-tree?" Stan stuttered as he walked backwards and joined Eric as they ducked behind the tree. "Your sister?" Kenny guessed with a girly snicker as Kyle looked at both of the cowering boys in confusion.

"God damnit Kyle! Do I have to fucking spell it out for you?! The fucking Assassin is in the fucking tree!" Eric screeched as both Kyle and Kenny whirled around and looked up at me, only to shrink to the icy ground in fear. As I watched the boys, I fought to keep a straight face as they stared at my fearsome, glowing form. Shifting my weight, I blinked as Kyle regained control of himself long enough to stagger back and dash behind the same tree as Stan and Eric until only Kenny remained in his frozen state.

"S-Sorry about n-not believing you C-Cartman." Kyle stuttered as he pulled the flaps of his hat down over his eyes as I stared Kenny directly in the eye before silently creeping out of the tree and landed in the snow. "Kenny! Run!" Stan shouted, drawing the attention of the rest of the small group of kids from across the field. Stan's warning fell on deaf ears as Kenny and I stayed where we were as we had our own staring contest.

'C'mon Kenny, figure it out already.' I thought impatiently as the wind played harmlessly with the fabric wings and tails of my body suit: bringing me back to the first time I had ever met Mysterion. "Wh-Who are you?!" Kenny asked nervously as I stayed silent, only to send him a smirk as I let a particularly strong breeze move the beak of my hood slightly out of my face. Apparently, that was all my orange-clad friend needed as his eyes widened as large as they could they go before he took a shaky step forward.

"What the fuck are you doing you crazy bastard?!" Eric yelled as Stan and Kyle hid their faces behind the tree to avoid seeing what would happen next. "Is it really you?" Kenny mumbled in a watery voice so only I could hear him as he came to a stop directly in front of me. "Guilty as charged." I whispered back as my smirk grew until it was a toothy grin. As my words sunk in, I almost had the wind knocked out of me as Kenny barreled into me and engulfed me in a bear-hug so tight I couldn't breathe.

"Kenny what the fuck?!" Stan yelled as the feminine-dressed boy and I rolled backwards in a ball of orange and black before coming to a stop in a snowbank deep enough to bury us completely in the powdery substance. Ignoring them, Kenny buried his head in my shoulder and let out silent sobs as icy tears stained my exposed skin. "I thought they killed you." he sniffed as he tightened his grip and refused to let me go.

Hugging his trembling shoulders, I moved his wig out of his face so I could see him clearly before his tear-stained blue eyes made contact with my orange ones. "They can try all they want, nothing has worked so far. Besides, I couldn't leave you guys hanging, now could I?" I said as I tried to lighten the mood as he sniffed again and put his head back where it was as the voices of the others sounded from outside the miniature igloo we found ourselves in.

"Kenny? Are you okay?!" Kyle shouted, making the boy in question pull away from me and attempted to dry his eyes on his dress before popping his head out of the pile of snow. "Everything's under control!" he called back as Stan leaned around the base of the tree in order to see what was going on. "Dude what the hell? You can't just go attacking random people! You don't know if they are dangerous or not!" Stan scolded as he and Kyle cautiously walked from behind the tree as Kenny let out a laugh.

"You guys aren't going to believe this!" Kenny called as he climbed out of the pile of snow before turning around and helped me out and steadied me as I slipped on a piece of ice. "Isn't this just fucking great! Kenny's making friends with the Assassin who's probably going to murder us all in our sleep!" Eric said snidely as they all nervously took a few shaky steps closer as Kenny stood unharmed beside me.

"You wouldn't say that once you guys see this." Kenny said as Stan shared a look with Kyle before the elf king took another couple of brave steps forward. "Are you saying you know this person Kenny?" Kyle asked as Eric scoffed obnoxiously, causing Kyle to send a nasty glare his way. "What person has glowing eyes Kahl?! C'mon Jew-boy I know you're stupid, but I didn't think you were THAT stupid." Eric said as Kenny rolled his eyes before sending me a look as he silently asked for my permission as I gave him a slight nod.

"This one." Kenny said simply before carefully pulling my hood down, exposing my identity to everyone around me. "Holy….shit." Stan said as I sent a sheepish smile his way before I heard Eric growl in anger before he stomped over to me and got right in my face. "What the fuck is wrong with you, bitch?! How dare you come back here dressed like a fucking Assassin and scare the shit out of us?! As if we didn't freak out enough when those dick-wads did that shit to you, now you're gonna come back here looking like something out of a nightmare?! The fuck is wrong with you?!" he raged, and even though he pretended to be pissed, I still picked up the worried undertone his voice had.

However, I knew he would hate me forever if I brought attention to it, so I played along with his little game. "Sorry! It's not MY fault this is what I really look like! Blame my douchebag parents for letting those pricks do this shit to me in the first place. Would be nice to see you ACTUALLY care about others beside yourself every once in a while." I snapped back in false-anger as my eyes returned to their normal Sapphire-blue as I stormed past him and welcomed the friendly and relieved hugs from both Stan and Kyle.

It was then that a bruised Butters happily skipped up to us leading a pig on a lead of rope. "Hey there Saphira! Did ya have fun with your friends?" he asked as I inwardly cringed at the question, but answered him truthfully regardless. "If you could call it that." I said as he handed the rope to Eric with an ecstatic grin before running off to return to the other kids as they waited for us to join them. "Though it pisses me off that you aren't in your Commander's costume, I suppose this one will do: just don't turn all Goth on us and shit." Eric said as he mounted the pig and prepared to return to collect the combined armies.

"Hang on a minute you guys." I called, making all four of them halt and turn to me. "What is it NOW MacManus?! Can't you see you've interrupted the game long enough?!" Eric snapped as I sent him a mischievous smirk before glancing around and spotted what I was searching for. "Now Eric, as Grand Wizard: wouldn't you rather prove how much of a badass you are?" I asked, catching his interest immediately. "I don't think I like where this is going." I heard Kyle mutter to Stan as he nodded.

"What do you have in mind?" Eric questioned as my face split into a Cheshire grin. "How would you like to ride a REAL beast?" I asked as the Grand Wizard's eyes adopted an evil glint as the others looked at each other nervously. "I'd love to see this, go on then Commander: summon this beast of yours." he said as he returned into character after so long, which I glanced slyly at all four of them before nodding. With a smug look on my face, I lifted my right arm and snapped my fingers: calling forth the Alpha Hunter as it leapt from its hiding place like the monster it was.

Landing in a predatory crouch, the Hunter's massive feet easily cleared the area of snow as it snarled and growled: throwing buckets of drool through the air. Holding my hand out in a halting motion, the Hunter immediately stopped pacing and obediently came to a stop directly behind me. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" all the boys screamed at the same time as the Hunter reared up on its hind legs, pounded its horribly scarred chest with fisted front feet and opened its massive jaws in an ear-shattering roar that was powerful enough to knock the snow from the tree branches.

Taking in their petrified faces with a laugh, I was suddenly aware of how Kenny's face turned a sickly shade of white as he stared helplessly into the Alpha Hunter's bloodthirsty eye. "Humans and elves: meet your new ride." I said as the Hunter crouched down and allowed me to jump onto its back once again. "What are you crazy?! I'm not getting on that thing, FUCK THAT!" Stan shouted as he looked like he'd pissed himself. "Don't worry, they listen to me and won't hurt you. Besides, they're badass to ride." I said as they looked at each other with wide unblinking stares.

"Th-They?" Kenny stuttered fearfully and I was afraid he was going to throw up in his apparent terror. "That's right! I have one for each of you." I said as the remaining Hunters stalked out of their hiding places and came to a stop a few feet behind each of the boys: who looked as if they were about to die of heart attacks as soon as they realized they were surrounded. Thinking on their fear, I was glad I had already hooked each of the smaller Hunters with makeshift reigns of their own: otherwise the boys would definitely fall off and get trampled under the beats' powerful feet.

'If they don't hurry up and get on, the Hunters will get impatient and will probably try to 'play' with them.' I thought with an irritated sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Come on, don't you want to show me up? You don't want to be bested by a girl do you?" I taunted as Eric shook his head and quickly got over his fear and stormed over to the Hunter behind him and climbed on after much trial and error. Once he was seated, he started acting like it was no big deal: even going so far as to taunt the other boys as they didn't share his apparent enthusiasm.

"Holy shit this is epic! You guys should totally try this shit, I feel so awesome: oh wait! I am!" he boasted, making me snicker at his poor attempt to forget about the fact that he nearly shit himself a minute ago. "See? It's all good. These guys are called Hunters: be glad these ones listen to me, otherwise you'd be lunch right now." I said as Eric continued to make faces at Stan and Kyle before the elf king had enough of the taunts as he nervously turned to the beast behind him and looked up at its gruesome face.

When it didn't do anything to him, Kyle walked over to its side on shaky legs before using the monster's front leg to climb onto its back. Once he got himself situated, he took hold of the makeshift reigns and glanced around from his new position. "Jesus Christ this is awesome!" Kyle exclaimed as Stan glanced at his Hunter before getting on and eventually shared the other boys' enthusiasm. Once they were sitting properly, I looked over at Kenny who looked positively miserable.

'Hmm, I don't think this is going to work: he looks like he's going to be sick.' I thought as I jumped off the Alpha's back and walked over to Kenny. Steering him by the shoulder, I led him away from the waiting beasts and over to the benches nearby. Once I got him on the bench, he pulled the strings of his parka tightly, closing the opening as he hid his head in his arms. "It's okay Kenny, they're not going to do anything to you. And if you're really afraid of them, you could ride with me if you want to." I offered as he glanced out of the opening in his tattered orange parka before shaking his head.

"I don't want you to think I'm a pussy, and I don't want to be seen as a coward by everyone else either." he said as I frowned sympathetically at him before sitting on the bench beside him. "Why would I think that? Everybody's afraid of something, and you should know me enough by now that I don't do that kind of thing. Just think of them as horses, have you ridden a horse before?" I asked as he gave a short nod, confirming that he had. "Well then there you go: just think it's a horse and you'll be fine, okay?" I said as he heaved a heavy sigh before reluctantly nodding before standing up and walking with me back over to the others.

Glaring at Eric as he made those obnoxious gagging noises again, I helped Kenny climb onto the Hunter's back and made sure he was holding on tightly before returning to the Alpha. Jumping on its back, I looked over to find that the boys had mostly gotten over their fear and were excitedly waiting to get on with the game we had started what felt like years ago: I just hoped we could actually finish it before we were interrupted by any more unwanted surprises.


	52. Chapter 52

Once everybody was situated, I nudged my Hunter into a walk: cueing the others to follow the Alpha's path. As we approached the end of the basketball court, I halted my Hunter and turned to glance at Eric, who was sitting like a king to my right. "You guys go on ahead, I have a few things to take care of. Tell Alex I'm fine and that I'll meet you at Clyde's house." I said, not really leaving room for objection as I gave the Hunter a solid kick to its ribs: making it rear up on its back legs with a screech before galloping off in the direction of my house.

Bounding over the fence, the Hunter carried me through the destroyed, zombie-infested streets while avoiding trigger-happy Blackwatch soldiers. Riding down my street, I leapt off the Hunter's back before sprinting over to my house. Growling to myself as I found the door was locked, I ran around to the back of the house and climbed up the tree and through my unlocked window.

Glancing around the room with a sad frown, I opened both Hershey's and Jake's cages before dropping a live rat into each one. Ignoring the loud squeaks as best as I could, I fed Alex's fish before walking over to my bedside table and removed my Xeno knife as well as something I had been working on for the few hours I had to spare while my parents 'tested out the sheets'. Putting the item and knife in my pocket, I gave the room a last look before walking down the stairs: where my dad was sitting on the couch without a care in the world, in fact: he was laughing his ass off while on the phone with someone I couldn't identify.

"And then-and then she got gassed! Right in the face, I swear to god! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen, I should have recorded it and sent it to you." he laughed before pausing to take a swig of his beer. "Who gives a shit what my good-for-nothing son thinks? If anything, he should be THANKING me that I cared enough to give Gentek a call: this way he could actually be a kid for Christ's sake! But no, he still won't talk and is always crying and giving me the dirtiest looks like that Torn-Condom-Accident was actually worth something, can you believe that?!" he laughed again, not even getting the slightest hint that I was sneaking slowly down the steps and over to the side of the couch.

"I tell you, the only good that wench was was to serve as a Guinea Pig, real shame she didn't die like we planned: should've made the wife have an abortion. I mean honestly, how many kids do YOU know that are born blue?! Oh well, the deeds done now anyway: can't help but wonder if they made her suffer as much as she deserves before they put the thing out of its misery." he said before hanging up after a few more irrelevant sentences as he finished his beer and made to stand from the couch, only to come face-to-face with my gloved fist: knocking him easily off his feet and into the brick fireplace a few feet away.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted in anger as he wiped the blood from his nose, only to freeze as I pounced on his chest and stared him in the eye. "How. Fucking. Dare. You?!" I snarled as he stared at me in a mixture of shock, fear, and anger as my body suit writhed and thrashed like a pot of boiling water. "YOU'RE the one who called them here?! You insensitive, filthy, disease-bearing, motherless, proxy GUTTERSHITE!" I screamed at him as multiple large, bladed tendrils that eerily-resembled Xenomorph tails grew from my body suit and thrashed around like a bunch of angry snakes.

"Sa-Saphira?! How-?!" he started as he tried to get out from under me, only to have me grip the front of his white shirt and gave him a solid shake: knocking the back of his head into the bricks of the cold fireplace with a dull 'crack'. "Everything that you've done, and everything you're going to do has given me more than enough reason to kill you in the most creative ways I could think of." I growled lowly as I changed my arms into the biomass claws, making raw terror erupt on his face as he tried harder to escape, before I used my tendrils to bind his arms and legs so he couldn't move at all.

"How does it feel, hmm? To be completely helpless against your captor as they did whatever they wanted to you?" I questioned with a sneer as I lifted a claw under his chin: the serrated metal tip lightly piercing his skin as my father couldn't even find words to fight back with: typical. "This is all your fault you know, if you hadn't given me to them in the first place, YOU wouldn't be at my mercy right now. I should just kill you." I said in an eerily-calm voice as he spat directly on my face, only to gulp nervously as I calmly wiped the disgusting liquid from my left cheek.

"But where would the satisfaction be if I simply did that? If anything, if I killed you: then you wouldn't know the true meaning of fear, now would you? Let's change that shall we?" I said murderously as I jumped off of him as used my tendrils to constrict him like a carnivorous plant, smirking cruelly as the bladed ends mercilessly bit through his clothes and into his skin. "NO Saphira! PLEASE! I'm sorry! It'll never happen again I swear, just LET ME GO!" he cried as he begged and pleaded for me to spare his worthless life. "You're right Father…it won't happen again." I said as I lifted him off his feet and carried his wriggling, struggling and cursing form through the house and out into the backyard.

Walking over to the tree, I watched as my biomass tendrils flipped my dad upside down and tied him to one of the branches like a giant piñata. Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched emotionlessly as he cursed me to hell and back as he tried to get down: only to cough and choke as the biomass tightened its grip on him, preventing him from moving anymore. "You brought this on yourself." I said as I snapped my fingers, splitting my face into an evil grin as a loud, ominous snarl echoed throughout the backyard, freezing my dad's attempts to escape instantly.

"Sa-Saphira, what the fuck was that?!" he stuttered as fear consumed his cruel and abusive form as the sound was an exact replica as the snarl of a Hunter from Left for Dead. "Oh, just a…friend of mine: one that would be VERY happy to meet you." I said as the growls and snorts continued to scare the pitiful excuse for a man hanging from the tree. "Though, if you're really that anxious to say 'Hello', take a look on the roof." I said as he did just that: where the screams of fear and desperation returned tenfold as the Alpha Hunter deliberately crawled down the face of the house in a slow pace like a spider, drooling and licking its chops the entire time as the fading sunlight reflected off its giant, metal claws and drool-stained teeth.

"Have fun, but keep your claws and teeth to yourself." I said to it as I gave my petrified father a sweet, childish grin and a friendly wave before pulling my hood up, turned around, and walked away: feeling satisfied and achieved that the man who wanted me dead from the start was finally getting what he deserved. 'Ah, that's better, now onto objective number two.' I thought happily as I took off running full-sprint through the darkening streets towards Walgreens, where my bat-like sonar told me a certain vigilante stood waiting. By the time I had reached the store in question, the streetlights had already come on and the sun had just about disappeared behind the mountains.

'This is it.' I thought with a sigh before I sprinted up the slightly-burned and bullet-riddled wall and silently perched on top of an AC unit like I had what felt like forever ago. As I somberly watched the vigilante, I noticed he was extremely on edge: and he had every right, especially with people like Gentek and Blackwatch hanging around and stalking the streets. Taking in his appearance, it seemed as if he hadn't slept for days with the way he was hunched over and used his cape as a kind of blanket to block out the worst of the icy wind.

Biting my lip, I kicked a pebble with my foot, causing him to instantly tense and whirl around in a defensive stance. "We really should stop meeting like this." I said as he straightened at the sound of my voice before crossing his arms over his chest. "That would be best: wouldn't want to accidentally mistake you for a threat." he replied as I walked over and stood by him and took in the apocalyptic state the town found itself in. "I'm sorry Mysterion." I said, watching his icy-blue eyes flick over to me out of the corner of my eye. "This is all my fault: if I hadn't disobeyed my father's demands: hell, if I had never even come here, this place wouldn't be at Blackwatch's mercy." I continued as I stared at what was left of the town, only to turn to the vigilante as I felt a stern hand grip my shoulder.

"If they were searching for you like you said, then this would've happened anyway. It's actually starting to annoy me how much you blame yourself for what goes on around you: you didn't have a choice or a way to defend yourself at the time. I understand it's hard to live with a curse, but you have friends who will stand by you to help you: if you took the time to let them in instead of fighting all the battles yourself." he said seriously as he reached over and smacked me upside my head, making me laugh and the dark cloud disappeared from above my head. "I'll try Mysterion." I said as he looked me over before nodding, seemingly satisfied with my answer. 'May as well do it now.' I thought as I sucked in a breath of cold air before gripping the item I hid in my pocket.

Turning to him, I took his hand and pulled the item out of my pocket and placed it in his olive-green glove. Taking my hand back, I watched his brow furrow in confusion as he stared at the glossy-black paint of the Xenomorph blade. "What's this for?" he questioned as he moved his stare from the blade to me, head cocking to the side slightly in confusion. "To protect you." I said as he looked as if he wanted to refuse the gift as he shook his head in a hopeless manner. "I told you a hundred times I can't die: why bother giving this to me?" he said, making a twinge of hurt flash through my chest before I made his fingers curl around the savage blade.

"If not to protect yourself, then use it to protect others. I may not be able to help all the time if you get yourself cornered, and even though you keep telling me you can't die: at least now you have something to remember me by." I said as his head shot up as he glared at me with an analyzing stare as that trademark scowl appeared on his face. "What do you mean by that?!" he snapped as he gripped both my shoulders tightly and stared me harshly in the eye. "I'm the reason Blackwatch and Gentek are here, Mysterion: I feel like it's my job to put an end to it and make them go away." I explained as his eyes widened a fraction of an inch before his eyes hardened until they resembled glass.

"No, absolutely not. I may not like it: but you and I are partners, you shouldn't have to do this on your own! I already promised I would protect you: let me help you now: since I failed to keep you safe from getting caught and who knows what else, let alone find you afterwards!" he snarled in a way that made me pause: as if he was BEGGING me to see his reasoning and let him redeem himself, like he had something to prove. 'That's awfully sweet of him, too bad I'm the only one who can set this right.' I thought as I smiled at him before stepping forward and engulfing him in a hug, shocking the vigilante to the point where he stood frozen as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you Mysterion, that really means a lot to know you care that much." I said as I felt him return the hug, unknowingly letting me feel how powerful he was, regardless if he was only nine years old: he had the heart of a soldier. "So, does this mean you'll stay?" he asked hopefully in that rough voice of his as he pulled back enough to stare me in the eye. Feeling tears well up in my eyes, I knew Mysterion figured out my decision as he pulled me back in and refused to let go of me this time. "I'm sorry Mysterion, but you and I both know I'm the only one that can set this right." I mumbled through the fabric of his shirt as his arms tightened their grip around my waist and shoulders without a word.

For several minutes we stood this way under the stars and Northern Lights of the Colorado sky, until I glanced up at my partner and friend through the beak of my glowing hood. "I have a request to make." I said as he glanced down with a carefully neutral expression on his face, though I could sense he was feeling anything but neutral at the moment. "Anything." he said as he hugged me tighter, as if I would vanish into the wind at any second, never to be seen again. "Watch over Alex for me? I know I've been a pretty awful sister to him, but everything that I've done I did to protect him. But, if I fail my mission: tell him I'm sorry I never was able to be the sister he wanted me to be." I said as he swallowed harshly before reluctantly nodding, agreeing to my request earnestly.

"Thank you." I said as I gave him a tighter hug of my own before smiling at him, drawing a tiny smirk out of him in return. It was then he did something I definitely did NOT expect of him: he leaned forward and rested his forehead on my own and shut his eyes with a pained look on his face. That look made my insides hurt, but I was confident he would be alright: he was the town's superhero after all. 'This could be seen as the most cliché moment ever, but fuck it: may as well call it 'Heat of the Moment' since this is exactly what it is.' I thought before I tilted my head up and planted a soft kiss to the side of his partially-exposed face, dangerously-close to the corner of his mouth.

That small action startled the hero into letting go of me and stared at me with a bewildered expression on his face. Smirking softly at his look, I almost laughed as his mind registered what just happened as his face slowly matched the color of my glowing body suit and I knew I had an equally vivid blush on my face too. Using his shock as an opportunity, I stepped away from him and perched on the side of the building that had already held so many memories of the two of us. "Trying to catch fireflies Mysterion?" I teased as he snapped his mouth shut and discretely put a glove on the spot I planted the sweet act of kindness.

"W-Why did you do that?" he stuttered as he tried to compose himself back to his serious persona as I looked at his furiously blushing face humorously. "Isn't the Hero supposed to get the girl?" I questioned sarcastically as he gulped before glancing at his boots, making me crack up laughing at his sudden, and out of character, shyness. Pushing the teasing aside, I waited for him to look at me again before I stared at him with a determined look. "Take care of yourself Mysterion." I said and I swore I saw his eyes fill with unshed tears as he stared back at me as I perched like a gargoyle on the side of the shadowed building.

"D-Don't go." he stuttered, and that's when I knew he actually WAS trying not to cry: making me feel horrible, but if I was going to save this town: this had to be done. "Axios." I said as I stood up and prepared myself for the Leap of Faith I was about to take. "What does that mean?" he questioned with a watery tone as his gravel-like voice mixed with the sadness hidden underneath.

"It's a Roman battle phrase, it means 'I am worthy'. I consider myself lucky to have made such wonderful friends after so much suffering I had endured. Which is why I leave you with such a word, so that we might go back to fighting drunks and exposing drug cartels someday soon." I said with a proud nod and a grin before I turned around and leapt forward: letting the virus do my bidding as I flew free toward the place where either everything would end, or begin anew as I left my most-trusted friend and hero behind.


	53. Chapter 53

It took every ounce of willpower I had to keep moving in the direction of Clyde's house, despite wanting nothing more than to head back to Walgreens. With tears in my eyes, I used my Whipfist to grab hold of a streetlight and used it to swing myself into several flips through the air before landing in a crouch on the roof of Eric's house.

'I can't believe I just left him like that, but its better this way. Even though what he said was true, I don't think I could live with myself if any of my friends got killed while being involved in my mess.' I thought as I watched my vision change to the red and orange hues as I stared at my pathetic excuse for a father being swatted around by the Hunter like a cat with a toy as its giant claws tore through the biomass, making the man drop face-first into the snow.

'As much as he deserves to die, I'm not willing to break my family apart more than it already is.' I thought as I snapped my fingers, causing the Hunter to bellow loudly in my dad's face before turning around and bounding to me as I leapt from the slate roof and into the snow. "Well done, maybe now he will learn some respect." I said to it as I mounted its back and took hold of the heavy reigns in its mouth. Steering it in the direction of my destination, I nudged it into a trot as we made our way over to Clyde's house, where I could already see an army of about fifty kids dressed in various sets of armor of both the human and elf races.

Before I moved to join them, I decided this was a good time as any to check my phone. As I booted up Facebook, I saw that Kyle had posted several things: one of which was a personal message to me saying how sorry he was that this happened to me, and that he couldn't believe how cruelly the soldiers beat me before they took me away. He also said that he and the rest of the boys, (even Eric) chased after the cargo truck until they couldn't run anymore. Touched by this, I continued reading and found a slightly-unexpected group of sentences: in this part of the message, he asked me if I would consider switching over to the elves' side for the remainder of the game, and if I would also consider being his Super-Best-Friend alongside Stan once this whole thing was over.

'Huh, I didn't even know Kyle saw me as that kind of friend, I don't even know how to respond to this.' I thought confused as I stared at the glowing words on the small screen. Me being trapped in a cage for four years of my life, didn't know the first thing about being in a friendly relationship of any kind considering nobody was kind to me: let alone taught me anything besides the meaning of pain and suffering. Deciding to ask him about this whole thing later, I checked the other notifications and found a post that Kyle had created not long ago. It was an invitation to a fight between Stan and Token, to which Token replied that he couldn't make it because he had a Dentist appointment. Scrolling further down, I saw that Stan had just replied to the post, saying how Token's 'Dentist appointment' couldn't save him forever.

Laughing slightly at this, I put my phone away before nudging my Hunter into a walk as it lumbered closer to the combined army. Glancing over the new and old faces, I saw Eric and Kyle still sitting atop their Hunters: who didn't seem to like each other, just like the boys riding them. Frowning slightly, I looked around for Kenny and his Hunter before spotting the two of them riding up the opposite side of the street and came to a stop off to the side of the group. 'Wonder where he took off to.' I thought as I watched him hesitantly take one of his hands off the reigns and pat the monstrous beast on its head. Taking my gaze from him, I spotted Alex standing in the front of the army dressed in a dark-purple and black cloak with black spikes jutting out from a band on his head.

This new costume also had bird skulls on it as well as gold trimming: all-in-all he looked pretty badass and I was proud of him that he was making friends and coming out of his shell after so many years of silence. When he moved his arm, my eyes widened at the sight of the weapon at his side: it was a metal dagger that curved dangerously and had a serrated edge along the top of it. 'I would think that thing would seriously hurt somebody if he stabbed someone with that.' I thought as the Hunter snorted and shook its head, clearly not appreciating the cold weather.

Hearing a sudden shriek to my left, I whirled around just in time to see the decaying, maggot-infested face of a Nazi Zombie as it lunged for my throat. "Bitch, please." I said as I leaned back on the Hunter and grabbed hold of the zombie's throat in my left hand. Standing up on the Alpha's back, I lifted the struggling, gurgling zombie off the ground and threw it away from me: smirking as it spun through the air and obliterated into a nasty stain on the side of somebody's house as its flailing body came to a sudden stop. As multiple pairs of eyes turned to me as they heard the disgusting 'squelching' sound, I couldn't help but feel pleased at the gasps and scared faces as I glanced at a nearby window and spotted my reflection. What I saw was a black and glowing red figure with fiery-orange eyes sitting on top a battle-worn Hunter as shadows covered the figure's face, only illuminated by the glow of their eyes.

The Alpha Hunter though, stamped its feet and growled like a veteran warhorse as it waited impatiently for me to give it a command. Looking back at the boys, I nudged the creature forward without a word: frowning to myself as kids left and right scrambled away from me and gave me the entire street. Once the way was cleared, I smiled as Alex's face was filled with shock and surprise before he sprinted over to the massive Hunter and silently-demanded that I pick him up. Scoffing good-naturedly at his antics, I reached down and lifted him up onto the Hunter's back as easily as picking up a pencil.

As soon as he was on, he lived up to his 'Tick' nickname as he wrapped his arms around my stomach and buried his ice-cold face in the open flaps of my jacket. "I missed you too, Little Bit." I whispered to him as I felt cold tears seep through the fabric of my undershirt. Apparently, this display of affection was enough to reassure the rest of the kids that I wasn't a threat to them as I hugged my trembling brother close as I used my free hand to steer the Hunter over to the rest of the boys. Coming to a stop next to Kyle, I sent him a knowing glance as he adjusted his crown of twigs with a small blush on his face.

And I wasn't the only one to see the look on the elf king's face either: Kenny was glaring poisoned daggers at him and I couldn't understand why. 'Why would he glare at Kyle like that? I thought they were all the best of friends?' I thought in confusion as Kenny tore his gaze away and made his Hunter approach mine until he was stationed on my other side and looked down at Alex with a happy look on the visible part of his face, and I knew he was happy to see the MacManus siblings together again.

With a sudden clear of his throat, Kyle raised his arms up and turned his Hunter in the direction of the front of the army: making every single pair of eyes glue themselves to him. Stopping the car-sized beast with a tug of the reigns, Kyle looked over the combined army with pride before he glanced at me with a soft grin on his face. Looking back at the other kids, Kyle's face hardened into a determined glare as he made his Hunter pace along the front lines. "Today, we are not the humans and the elves…today: we fight as one!" he shouted as he lifted both fists into the air as Eric joined his side on his own Hunter after he finished his own lap along the front of the decent-sized army.

"What we do here now…will be written and sung about on Youtube for days to come!" Eric yelled, causing all the kids to either raise a weapon or fist into the air and let out a loud battle-cry as the Grand Wizard's Hunter stood up on its hind legs and gave a short roar. "Let us besiege the Army of Darkness, with the courage of dragons! Let us delve their dungeons with swords and sorcery!" he continued loudly, and I will admit: I actually felt motivated by his speech…or I would have, until a kid dressed like Spock from Startrek standing next to Jimmy decided to speak up. "Let us charge our shields and use our Photon Torpedos to vaporize the Klingons!" he said, making me raise an eyebrow and hold my hand over my face in a rather painful face-palm as I tried with all my might not to laugh at the look on Eric's face.

In all of two seconds, the Grand Wizard's determined face melted away into one of pure annoyance as his eye twitched before harshly pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Kevin…GOD DAMNIT. EVERY. FUCKING. TIME, Kevin. GOD FUCKING DAMNIT, SERIOUSLY." he seethed as he removed his yellow glove from his face and glared at the kid known as 'Kevin' who looked at his shoes in embarrassed shame as his shoulders slumped. 'Even though I don't know him, that was pretty embarrassing. Poor kid was a little bit TOO deep in the moment.' I thought as I took in his kicked-puppy look.

"I'm sorry." Kevin replied in a sickly, nasally voice as Eric rolled his eyes before kicking his Hunter in the ribs: only to find that the beast refused to move as I gave it an order to wait with a single look. Putting Alex down on the ground, I climbed off the Alpha's back and walked up to the front of the group. "If you boys don't mind, you might want to get off the Hunters now." I said as Eric stopped his speech and leered at me. "And why the hell would we want to do that? These things are awesome." he said as a smirk appeared on my face before becoming serious again.

"You guys want revenge on Clyde for stealing The Stick, don't you?" I said as he scoffed while Kenny and Kyle continued to glare viciously at each other from behind my back as Stan looked like he was trapped in the middle of it. "Obviously MacManus, why did you think we have gathered here in the first place? Did those guys scramble your brains or something?!" he snapped, making me narrow my eyes at his little jab before sending him a mischievous look and snapped my fingers. This time, I couldn't hold back my laughter as the Hunter Eric was sitting on suddenly shook itself like a dog: freaking him out as he was thrown from the creature's back and onto the ground, luckily he landed on his butt. "EY! What the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" he screamed in rage as I rolled my orange eyes at him.

"You want revenge, well guess what: so do I, and I'm gonna need these guys in order to accomplish that." I said as he looked me over before accepting my reasoning as the other boys slid down their beasts' sides and landed safely on their feet. Calling the Alpha, I noticed how the other kids stepped back and out of its way as it stalked towards me like a prowling panther before coming to a stop at my side. As it lowered its giant head, I could see my reflection in the beast's remaining glowing eye as buckets of thick drool leaked from between its jaws and splashed on the icy asphalt.

"Take the pack: KILL every Blackwatch soldier and scientist you can find: but McMullen is MINE." I growled to it as its eye narrowed into a threatening slit before stamping its feet and rearing up with a mighty bellow that made everyone drop to their knees and cover their ears. Ducking down, I was able to barely avoid the lethal claws of the monsters as they jumped forward and stormed off and climbed up trees and houses alike with enraged snarls and hungry grunts as they searched for their promised feast.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, we should totally plot vengeance together sometime after this." Eric said as the Hunters wreaked havoc as they flipped cars and stormed through houses as they searched for their meals. Sending him a smirk, I winced as he slapped me a couple times on the back before catching the attention of the army again. Looking at them, I saw that the boys that barely knew me were staring at me with horrified expressions. However, I noticed that Kyle was staring at me with a disappointed look as Kenny crossed his arms and slowly shook his head at me.

"Well get over it, how else am I supposed to fix this? YOU should know by now the kind of shit these bastards can do, Kyle: or do you want to be next on their hit-list?" I questioned angrily as Kyle and Stan shared a look before glancing at their feet, as they understood why I had unleashed the Hunters on the town.

Kenny though, looked at me like I had just committed a crime: which I kinda did, but he would understand it was for the best eventually. Looking at Eric, I noticed he was continuing his speech with a renewed vigor. "Armies of Justice! Prepare! Ready?! And…Let's beat up Clyde!" he yelled, pointing his staff at the chocolate-colored house as he led the charge that would decide the fate of not just the game, but quite possibly: the fate of the Universe itself.


	54. Chapter 54

Watching the combined army of humans and elves storm passed me and into Clyde's house, I caught hold of Kenny's arm and held him back from following his friends. "What is it? Can't you see we have a war to win?" he snapped, making a twinge of regret shoot through me before I met his gaze. "Kenny, look: these people are capable of things even worse than what they have done to me. They created those Hunters with the virus that had turned me into a monster, if I don't put a stop to them now: they will probably try to experiment on you guys instead. But that isn't the only reason why I stopped you from going in there." I said with a hurt look on my face, causing Kenny's pissed off glare to disappear as he looked at me with concern instead.

"Saphira?" he asked as he reached out and took hold of my arm with a soft grip as I looked him in the eye again. "I abandoned Mysterion to make things right: though I can't help but feel that that was the stupidest thing I have ever done. I don't even know if he'll ever forgive me for sending those things on a murder-spree through town, but they will only go for the ones after me instead of everyone they see." I said as his cerulean eyes softened before he adjusted the bow on his back and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sure he understands, Saphira. Sometimes, heroes have to make sacrifices for the good of others. Besides: I don't think he's mad at you, and I have a feeling he's already forgiven you." he said as he took in my slightly-tired expression before gently tugging on the wings on the back of my jacket. "Where would I be without you Kenny?" I asked with a snicker as he poked me in the ribs, only to have me snatch his wrists as he attempted to tickle me again. "Well, if you're not busy later…." he suggested with a half-teasing, half-serious look in his eyes as he tried to step closer to me.

"Don't even finish that sentence of you value your life." I teased as he laughed before I let him go. "So feisty…I like that." he flirted, making my face heat up as I reached over and smacked him upside his head, almost knocking his crown and wig off the top of his head as he cracked up laughing. "Close your eyes Kenny." I told him with a roll of my eyes as he giggled like a girl: probably thinking he was going to get a kiss or something from me. Doing as I said, he stood perfectly still with an obnoxious and perverted laugh escaping the hood of his parka as I reached into my pocket and removed the item I had hidden there.

Walking up to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed the item where it was meant to be before I quickly stepped away, just as the orange-clad boy was about to snatch hold of me. 'Not today buddy.' I thought with a snicker as his shoulders drooped as he realized he had been denied what he was hoping for. "You can open your eyes now." I said as he blinked his eyes open and glanced down at what I had placed around his neck. Watching his reaction with a grin, he carefully picked up the off-white, ivory pendant that hung from a silver chain. The pendant itself was a couple inches long and about an inch wide that took the shape of a Chinese dragon. It coiled around a heart with a furious snarl on its tiny face with a pair of eyes that seemed to focus on whoever was looking at it.

As he examined it, he ran his gloved fingers over the extremely-detailed and smooth surface before glancing at me with an unsure look on his face. "Merry Christmas Kenny." I said, even though it was the week before the special holiday. "I-I don't even know what to say, nobody has ever given me a present like this before. Did you make this?" he asked as I nodded with a proud look on my face as he looked from the pendant, to me, then back at the pendant in disbelief.

"I carved it out of a Hunter's tooth, the very one I saved Mysterion from. I thought you should have it, considering you and Butters were the ones that made me feel welcome from pretty much the beginning. Besides, nobody should be alone and without a gift on Christmas." I said as his eyes welled up with grateful tears as he pulled me into a bear-hug and actually picked me up and spun me around.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me. I just wish there's something I could give you in return." he said as he let go and wiped his eyes with the hem of his white and purple dress. "You being my friend is the best gift I could ever ask for, I'm just repaying your kindness with my own. Now c'mon, we have a war to win." I said as he nodded before taking my hand in his as we ran up to the house and passed Clyde's dad, through the house, and out the sliding glass door.

Taking in the sights around me, I was shocked to find Clyde's backyard already in utter chaos: warriors of both the human and elf armies seemed to be fighting for their very lives as they punched, kicked, and just plain beat the shit out of Clyde's army. Unfortunately, the kids fighting for him were also doing their fair share of damage as the first thing I saw was poor Butters being surrounded by four intimidating Goth kids. 'I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to let anybody hurt Butters.' I thought as I shared a determined look with Kenny, who nodded and drew his bow before picking off the ones he could reach in a sniper-like fashion.

Charging forward, I jumped over a pair of clashing kids and landed protectively in front of the Paladin. "Sa-Saphira! Oh boy, am I glad to see ya!" he cheered as I leered at the opposing enemy as they snickered and nudged one another. "Look! The Freak is protecting her little boyfriend! How cute!" the biggest one jeered as the rest laughed and mocked as I felt Butters shrink back at the insults. "No, I just don't like how it takes four of you to beat up a single Paladin. If you were smart: you'd back down and surrender." I said, just as one of the smaller kids lunged forward and landed a solid punch to my jaw with the heavy brass-knuckles he wore. "Oh shit!" I heard someone gasp as the blow knocked me on my ass with a yelp.

Spitting the mouthful of blood on the snow, I stood back up and touched my split lip with my thumb. "You know…that was a good shot: not many people can land a hit like that. I give you credit kid: you can hit, thing is…I hit HARDER." I said with a sadistic smile before quite literally vanishing from sight, only to reappear as I knocked all four of them to the ground with a solid leg-sweep. Ignoring the curses and surprised yells, I dashed forward and picked two of them up and bashed their heads together before tossing them away and into the snow.

Growling to myself as one jumped on my back, I reached behind me and grabbed him by the shoulder-plates of his armor and pulled him over my head and slammed him into his friend. Once they were stunned, I jumped up and nailed both of them with a roundhouse kick that sent them scrambling away in retreat. "You okay Butters?" I asked as I took his hand in my own and helped him stand up. "I'm alright, but gee whiz Saphira: did ya HAVE to be so scary with it?" he stuttered as he brushed himself off. "Sorry, got caught up in the moment." I said sheepishly as we shared a laugh before making our way down the path towards Clyde's fortress, only to be blocked by the moat and a pair of guards standing on the opposite side.

Glaring at the two smirking guards as they raised the drawbridge, I picked up a rock and threw it at the hinges that connected the chain to the cardboard. Making contact, the chain broke, allowing gravity to pull the bridge down and let us across. "That did it! Gee Saphira, you're so smart!" Butters cheered, making me smirk at the compliment before I narrowed my eyes at the guards as they took fighting stances. "The Dark Lord will prevail!" one of them cried as he raised his purple water gun into the air, while the more intimidating one growled and flipped a switch: bringing a puddle of water to life with electricity.

'Holy shit, it looks like these kids really ARE trying to kill us.' I thought in shock before I held a hand out, halting Butters mid-step. 'This seems to be a good time to intimidate these guys.' I thought as I slipped into the Mantis stance and lowered my head, making the fabric wings on my back appear to stretch and spread out to the sides as I bent my knees and glared at the enemy. Using my pent-up anger, I watched the world around me change colors and that's how I knew my eyes were glowing orange as I completed the act by pulling my lips back over my teeth and emitted a demonic snarl: causing wet stains to immediately appear on the kids' pants as they backed up against the wall of Clyde's fortress.

"Wh-What the hell ARE you?!" the one with markings under his eyes whimpered as he tried to hide behind his weapon as his friend couldn't even talk as he shook in his boots. "Your worst nightmare." I hissed as I smiled sadistically at them before dashing forward and stopped directly in their faces, making sure they could see my unnatural eyes. "BOO!" I shouted, causing the two boys to let out the smallest of squeaks before they stumbled over each other and fell into their own trap: rendering them both defeated. Standing up straight, I pulled the switch on the small generator that had been controlling the electricity, making the way to the gate completely safe to walk over.

"Hey, Saphira!" I heard over the sounds of battle and discovered Stan waving frantically at me to get my attention. "You take The Tower from the inside! Me and the pirates are gonna scale it from the outside!" he yelled as I tossed him a thumbs-up. "Got it!" I yelled back as Butters and I stormed through the gates of the massive treehouse. The inside was even more badass-looking than the outside: if that was even possible. Only problem was…there were three of Clyde's warriors waiting for us behind a barricade while a pair of older kids dressed as Cyclops manned cannons that shot fireworks!

'Well, shit. How do we get passed these guys?' I wondered as Butters and I quickly took cover underneath the platform the Cyclops were standing on in order to avoid being hit by the exploding fireworks. 'I've been blown-up before, I just never expected them to try to use fireworks of all things. Well, at least they're being creative.' I thought humorlessly as I shared a look with the nervous paladin as I tried to come up with a plan. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?" I asked him, who stuck his tongue out as he put his chin between his thumb and pointer finger.

'That look is adorable.' I thought with a laugh, which made Butters all the more embarrassed, which was even funnier. After a few minutes of hearing an ungodly amount of fireworks explode and taunts from Clyde's warriors, Butters shrugged his shoulders with a sad look on his face. "Ah well, we'll figure something out." I said, making him brighten up instantly as I searched the room for anything we could use that would help us. Just as I was about to voice my plan to Butters, I heard a strangled gasp before both Cyclops fell from the platform and landed defeated at our feet.

"The hell?" I said in confusion as I tilted my head in order to see what caused the two kids to fall. I didn't see the cause at first, only when I saw the dark-purple and black figure dart across the platform did I realize that Alex had snuck in from a higher-positioned window and knocked out the Cyclops with 'sleep darts' that turned out to be suction-cup bullets from a Nerf gun. Spotting me looking at him, Alex smirked devilishly at me before putting his blade away. "Good job, Little Thief. Do you think you could take out the barricade for me?" I asked as he tore his gaze from me, to the barricade and the Dark Warriors behind it, and then back to me before he nodded.

It wasn't until I glanced back at Butters did I hear loud explosions and screaming kids. Fearing that Blackwatch found us, I took a defensive stance and prepared to tear apart whoever had the nerve to threaten my friends. When nothing happened, I looked up and found Alex manning one of the firework cannons and used it to break apart the barricade and defeat the three kids standing behind it. I almost couldn't take my eyes off my baby brother: his upper face was hidden by the black shadows of his hood, there was no fear in his normally-shy stance, and his costume and his eyes took on a hellish gleam each time the fireworks shot out of the makeshift cannon.

'My God, he almost looks like…' I couldn't even finish the thought as his face suddenly broke out into a bloodthirsty grin as the large rockets made the kids dance and dodge like they were doing the River dance. "Alex! Alex stop!" I yelled as I jumped up onto the platform and tried to get him away from the cannon, only to get an elbow to the throat as soon as my hands made contact with his shoulders. For a split second, I thought I was going to suffocate before the virus repaired my crushed windpipe, allowing me to breathe and leap up off my back and grab hold of Alex again.

Alex, that's enough! You can stop now: they're done fighting." I tried to reason as I saw his grin get bigger: showing off his teeth as the flames from the cannon made both of us look like demons of the worst kind. "No." he snarled, making a shocked look appear on my face before it turned horrified as I realized I wasn't dealing with my sweet baby brother at that moment: I was dealing with the result of Gentek's torment. 'That's why that look is SO familiar…he looks like me!' I thought as his right hand slipped from the cannon and gripped his metal blade before whirling around and swinging it at me.

"Shit." I hissed as he nicked me in the side, drawing a thin trail of blood through a small slit in my body suit. "Saphira, look out!" Butters yelled as Alex charged me again with the intent to drive that blade in my neck, only to miss as I dropped to the floor and roll out of the way. "I don't want to hurt you Alex: we aren't THERE anymore so there's no reason for this." I tried to reason as I continued to dodge and duck under his terrifyingly good aim: it was like I was fighting a professional blade wielder instead of my six year old brother.

"There's plenty reason, dear sister. The main one being you! If YOU weren't here: this would be SO much more fun! I wonder how many shades of red I could find around here, but with you here to keep me from finding out: to keep everyone safe, I can't set myself free!" he snapped as he placed a well-aimed kick to my stomach, making me stumble back with a dry cough. 'Holy shit! He's gone off the deep end!' I thought as I was knocked on my back as he pounced on me and tried to drive that threatening blade of his in my chest. "Hang on, buddy!" Butters yelled as he tried to find a ladder or something to help him climb up to where we were.

"Goddamnit Alex! Snap the fuck out of it!" I yelled as I placed my feet on his belly and roughly pushed him off and away from me. "You know, big sis: Clyde was right. We totally should have joined his side: we belong on the Dark Side after all. But since you're too much of a goody-two-shoes to accept that, looks like it's bye-bye for the almighty 'Savior', what a fine sacrifice you will make to the Dark Lord." he said maniacally as he tried to swipe at me again, only to have me catch his wrist and spin him around so his back was against my stomach and his arms were restrained.

"You need to stop and you need to do it NOW. This isn't how my baby brother is and you know it, so get over this little tantrum of yours before someone seriously gets hurt." I warned as he gave a loud, mocking laugh as he turned his head enough to glare at me. "Tantrum?! HA! Why the hell are you denying the inevitable, Saphira? You know everyone deserves to die for what they did to us! So why not start with the easy pickings?!" he questioned, making my eyes grow to the size of saucers as I realized what he meant. "No, Alex. I know you don't really think that." I pleaded, only to freeze as I watched with numb horror as Alex's hazel eyes took on an eerie, emerald-green glow.

"Then you don't know me, at all." he growled as he dashed forward and tried to run me through with his blade that had some type of poison dripping from the blade. Stepping to the side, I was barely-able to dodge his attack and sweep him off his feet, only to have him jump back up and ram his shoulder into my stomach, knocking me in a backwards roll that sent us both out of one of the windows. Unfortunately, the momentum sent my lighter sibling further out and away from anything for him to grab hold of. Thinking quickly, I grabbed onto the windowsill with my left hand and his foot with my right.

What happened next would forever haunt my nightmares among the hundreds of screams already tormenting my mind: the force of my halting his fall made him swing backwards and slam into the side of Clyde's treehouse: where a dull 'crack' followed by an ear-shattering shriek took over the sounds of battle two stories below. With a gasp, I took in the pained face of Alex as he stared at me with pained eyes. "Saphira! My arm's broken: help me up!" he whined, making me hesitate as I noticed his eyes were still glowing, before he raised his head enough for me to look him in the eye. "Saphy, please…I'm your brother!" he pleaded, which was more than enough for me as I struggled to pull both of us back up and inside the safety of the treehouse.

However, as soon as Alex had his grip on one of the red spikes on the small tower, I heard him snicker as he sneered at me with a pure evil look on his shadowed face as he used that moment to swipe at me with the poisoned blade he had somehow gotten in his mouth. I was so shocked he was actually TRYING to take my life, that I couldn't say a word as the cardboard spike he was holding onto detached from the weak tape holding it in place from the rest of the tower.

At the dull sound of tape separating from cardboard, Alex's face changed into a look pf pure shock and horror as his weight caused him to fall backwards and tumble down the face of the fortress: his terrified screams echoing loudly before coming to a sudden halt as a loud splash was heard. "ALEX!" I screamed as I furiously searched the ground for him, only to spot him floating on one of the inflatable alligators at the bottom of the moat. As fearful tears streamed down my face, my plan to leap down to my brother was cut short as a loud, half-assed evil laugh echoed through the hallways around me.

'Clyde…YOU put him up to this, you son of a bitch.' I thought in rage as I glared through my tears toward the direction the laugh was coming from. Ripping Alex's poisoned dagger from its place in the purple cardboard, I climbed through the window and stormed past the destroyed foyer toward my new target: not sparing the worried paladin a single glance as vengeance drove me to end this Tyrant's reign…once and for all.


	55. Chapter 55

Never in my tortured life had I felt such resentment towards another kid, especially one my age as I clenched and unclenched my jaw as I climbed up the ladder leading to the higher levels of the treehouse. "Judgement will be passed severely for this." I heard from below me and could only growl like some kind of creature as I was too busy fighting off my instincts to form a reply. Climbing onto the platform, I saw several Nazi zombies shuffling and snarling while one of them pulled a rope that lifted a cow of all things out of sight.

"Lookit! Nazi Kitties!" Butters said as the largest of the zombies took notice of us and snarled: allowing my sensitive nose to greet the rancid stench of its rotting breath. Taking in my surroundings, I noticed that underneath the cliché 'villain's headquarters' lay something even more sinister: something someone like McMullen would find pleasing. Beyond the various animal crates and barricades, were items one would typically see in haunted houses and other horror attractions, including a tire swing with a red-eyed bat 'roosting' in the center next to an open window.

Turning my attention back to the zombies as they brandished their weapons and shuffled towards us, I heard Butters gulp nervously as he raised his hammer defensively. "You know, I'm REALLY not in the mood to deal with you." I said nonchalantly before I spread my arms out like I was going to brandish my claws before I crouched sideways in a threatening stance. As the largest and closest of the zombies licked its bloodied teeth, I gave it a snarl of my own, making all six of them stop in their tracks. Gnashing my teeth, I displayed my slightly-longer-than-normal canines, causing the Nazi zombies and the cats to back off and disappear behind anything that could hide them.

"O-Oh h-hamburgers!" Butters yelped as I glanced at him, making me realize that my display had scared him too. 'Great, now Butters is afraid of me.' I thought in distain before I turned to him and gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned after a few seconds and pat my shoulder for good measure before we both continued on. "Sorry about that, Butters." I apologized as he looked over innocently at me. "Aw that's alright Saphira. I d-didn't wanna fight those guys anyway." he replied, causing me to give him a small smile before it vanished from my face as I heard a soft scratching noise coming from just outside the window we were standing by.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw several young kids around Alex's age dressed like pirates climbing up a rope that lead further up the treehouse and out of my sight. Keeping my gaze on them, my face stretched into a smirk as I saw Stan pop up from below and nod at us in greeting. "We've got your back, Saphira! Pirates, help the Commander!" he commanded with a determined look in his eyes as he ran along the outer balcony and off somewhere to my right. Before I could ask where he was going, I heard a loud 'clattering' noise, drawing my attention upward to a wooden and rope ladder rolling down the wall and led to a hidden space I didn't see before.

"Avast, MacManus!" I heard the pirates call before I gripped the rungs and started to climb to the floor above me. "Thanks, guys. Go scout ahead and see if you can get rid of some of Clyde's minions." I said as the little pirates saluted before dashing off in different directions. "Aye aye." I heard as their footsteps grew faint before I turned to Butters again. "Time for more ass-kicking, hopefully we can finish this sometime BEFORE we all get grounded." I said as the poor paladin gulped in fear before nodding in agreement. "R-Right." he said before quickly following me up the ladder and into the next area of this massive treehouse.

Taking in the details of this part of the fortress, I noticed the ladder had taken us outside in a surprisingly-open area with one tower on each side of a big gate. Within each of the towers, stood two groups of two enemies: three Cyclops and shockingly: one of the girls that had foolishly tried to beat me up when Kenny and I were scouting the town for more warriors. 'You'd think they would have learned by now.' I thought with a sigh before turning around and helped Butters up onto the platform. "Get over here!" one of the fat Cyclops shouted, causing me to sneer at him before crossing my arms over my chest.

"Pick another line to try to intimidate me, you are NOT Scorpion!" I snapped, appalled that this kid would use the signature line of my favorite character like he had the right to do so. "Why don't you come over here and make me, you Freak!" he shouted again, making me scoff and roll me eyes and turn to Butters. "What do you think? Up for causing a little chaos?" I questioned as his nervous expression melted away and took on a rather unstable gleam. "I thought you'd never ask. Perhaps when we have conquered this pathetic excuse for a lair, I shall show this world what true chaos is." the familiar adversary declared with a dark look in his eyes as he tossed his hammer carelessly in one hand as I picked up a discarded sword to use.

Hearing a board creak, I looked up and saw Stan trying to sneak through the shadows of the roof, obviously trying to get the drop on an enemy or two or was waiting to attack from above. Exchanging a nod with him, I made my way closer to the gate, where Stan ended up jumping onto a small balcony just above the sealed doorway. "All right, here's the plan: attack each tower and raise the gates within so we can get into Clyde's lair. Maplebeard! Clear the path!" he suddenly ordered to a small pirate of Canadian origin, who tilted his hat before pulling a large (and probably illegal) firework from behind his back. "YAY!" he yelled before aiming it at the tower to my right.

Before he could light it however, the same Cyclops that had been impersonating Scorpion ran forward and kicked the lighter away from the little pirate. "FUCK YOU!" he snarled and he threw a nasty punch, hitting the little kid right in the jaw: knocking him back and making him cry. From my position and enhanced sight, I saw that the dark-red spot that was left behind from the vicious attack was already starting to turn purple and green. Ignoring everything else, I dashed forward and latched my iron-like grip around the Cyclops's throat and smashed him into the rough bark of the tree. As he squirmed in my grip, my mouth opened in a sinister smile as he started choking on the lack of air.

"How does it feel, hmm? To be on the receiving end of the hand?" I said as he kicked and thrashed as he tried to get me to let go, or at the very least: allow him to breathe, which I did neither. "Doesn't feel good does it? Pity. I thought bullies like you enjoyed this sort of thing, no matter: I can think of PLENTY of ways to put you in your place for hurting one younger than you. Would you like to see?" I asked in a bittersweet voice as his face started turning blue. "Saphira! Dude!" Stan yelled as he rushed forward to try to help the pathetic scum at my mercy, only to have myself gasping as a strong arm yanked me back and on my ass, causing me to let go of the Cyclops: who dropped like a rock and started coughing.

Growling to myself, I glared through my hair to see Chaos sneering down at me like he had when he first showed himself to me: as if I were beneath him. "That. Is. Enough." he spat, whacking me on the top of my head with his hammer for good measure. Standing up with a hiss, I menacingly approached him until we were standing toe-to-toe and glaring eye-to-eye. "Who do you think you are?" I snarled as I heard the Cyclops get up and stagger off crying, making me happy that he will not forget my 'lesson' any time soon. Before my anger and instincts could make me do something I would regret, Stan jumped in between Chaos and I, giving us both an angry look in the process.

"What the hell is the matter with you?! This is only a GAME, Saphira! Nobody is really hurting anyone: it's all acting! And yet here YOU are: acting like everything is real!" he yelled, making me turn my glare onto him. "I don't know if you have noticed, STAN-" I hissed, spitting his name like venom. "But this stopped being a 'game' a long time ago! There are REAL monsters running around: in human form and otherwise killing one another. Take a moment to get off your high-horse and see it from MY perspective: you see a game being played, I see a war between the living and the dead. You see acting, I see a little boy being beaten to a pulp. You see a group of military playing 'paintball', I see monsters in human skin hunting down and killing anyone they please while they turn the town upside down to find their prize, which is what again? Oh! That's right: ME! So forgive me if I step in and put a stop to something that is frowned upon in the real world. Or, did you somehow forget the town's little 'welcome' from Blackwatch that almost got you guys killed?!" I snarled as the faces of the two kids in front of me blurred, signaling the arrival of tears: making me violently snatch my long-fallen hood and yanked it back over my head and spun on my heel, smacking Chaos in the face with the torn wings on my back as I stomped off.

"Saphira, look: I'm sorry. I forgot that you don't know very much about games and how they're played here, I didn't mean to bring any of that up and I know the stress of all of this must be getting to you and I didn't think about your views. I'm sorry." I heard Stan say, making me stop and tilt my head back in his direction over my shoulder. 'If you see yourself a hero, you are a hero. If it's a monster you see, then that's what you will be.' the voice of Mysterion echoed in my head as my shadowed eyes broke from my friends and over the nearly-leveled town that Blackwatch decided to visit.

And without another word, I glanced at Chaos: who, with an air of superiority, strutted over and led the way to the tower and I could've sworn I saw him send Stan a smug look as he did. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I griped the sword a little tighter as Chaos and I made out way to the right-side tower. Watching as the second Cyclops defeated another pirate, I cleared my throat loudly to catch his attention. Crossing my arms, I sent him a taunting smirk as I tossed my sword up in the air and caught it by the handle without bothering to look at it.

"Oh, you think you're hot shit?" he laughed as he tossed the little girl he had in his grip carelessly to the floor. Without a word, I turned that same smirk to my companion and jerked my head in the enemy's direction. As the evil mastermind's eyes filled with glee, he puffed his chest out and stomped forward until he was directly in front of his intended target. "Let's see how you deal with my Web of Holding." Chaos said as he stomped one foot on the floor, where instantly black and yellow spider webs snatched hold of the Cyclops's feet: trapping him in place. Once he was stuck, my temporary ally narrowed his eyes: contemplating what sort of punishment this kid deserved.

"Don't go easy on my account." I said, immediately regretting it as Chaos's face split into a malicious grin, showing off all his teeth as he let out an almost deranged cackle. Slipping into a sideways stance, Chaos opened both hands and held them facing each other: allowing me to see a glowing orb of energy slowly take up the empty space between his gauntlets. Taking my gaze off him, I noticed that the Cyclops paled and tried even harder to escape, only to have no effect on the webs at his feet as Chaos let his attack loose: reminding me of something from DBZ.

'Holy shit, that was cool.' I thought as Chaos loudly cracked his knuckles before allowing me to pass him and into the tower. Looking around the small room, I noticed a wheel with thick chains attached to it that looked like it belonged on a pirate ship. 'Well, only one way to find out.' I thought as I gripped the wheel, wondering to myself if turning it was a good idea because I knew of only two things: either this wheel opened the gate, or released something that would screw us over even more than we already were, and that was something this town DEFINITELY didn't need.


	56. Chapter 56

Gritting my teeth against the annoying 'screeching' sound of the wheel, I turned it until it wouldn't move anymore. 'That's one down.' I thought as I turned around and nodded at Chaos, who sent a wicked smirk before pulling his cape around himself and changed into Butters again. "Boy this is neat-o, huh?" Butters asked as we left the tower and approached the second one. "Hey Butters, I think the guys could use some help. Do you mind going to help them while Kenny helps me for a bit?" I asked as he nodded eagerly with a big grin on his face before running off to do as I asked.

After standing idle for several minutes, I felt a hand on my shoulder and smirked to myself as I turned to face Kenny as he twirled his bow like a baton. "You called for me?" he asked in such a way that that particular question could be taken in several different ways. Ignoring that, I looked him over and found him to be relatively unharmed with the exception of a small bruise under his left eye. "Is Alex okay?" I asked as he looked over the side of the railing to check the battle raging below. "He's fine, he acted like his arm hurt but Kyle's taking care of him." he said making me breathe a sigh of relief to know that he wasn't too badly hurt when he fell off the side of the treehouse, and I could tell Kenny was glad to see I cared so much about my younger brother.

"You up for some action?" I questioned, scoffing as he suggestively wriggled his eyebrows with a girlish giggle. 'Probably should have voiced that differently.' I thought in distain as I playfully shoved him as he tried to move in on me. "Oh you know it." he said with a wink, laughing as my face heat up before I smacked him upside his head, almost knocking his wig and crown off the top of his head. "Shut it, I need you to help me open the gate and take care of anything that's in there." I said as I noticed that the gate was halfway opened thanks to the wheel I just turned.

"Your word is my command, My Lady." he said with an overly-dramatic curtsy, making me roll my eyes before I lead him over to the tower on the left. Breaking through the barricade, we stormed up to the entrance to the tower, just as the Bully Girl and the Cyclops noticed us. "Well well, look who we have here: ready for your beat-down, New Kid?" the girl questioned nastily, making Kenny notch an arrow and ready his bow as he glared at her. "Funny, considering the last time you and your bitch friends tried that: you all got your asses kicked." I replied with a smirk, pissing her off even more as she balled her fists.

"I'm gonna make you wish you never stepped foot in South Park!" she screeched as she and the Cyclops took their fighting stances. Slipping into the Tiger stance, I gripped my sword tightly before rushing the Cyclops: catching him by surprise as I jumped in the air and spun around: hitting my opponent directly on the shoulder and knocked him on his back. Taking his turn, Kenny pulled back on his bowstring and let his arrow fly: making the suction cup stick on the 'third eye' on the Cyclops's forehead before he curled up 'dead' on the floor. Gritting her teeth in anger, the girl ran forward to try to punch me in the gut, only to have me bring my leg up and block her pathetic punch.

When that didn't work, she tried to knock my legs out from under me, only to have me step backwards and out of the way. "Damn you suck, what were you trying to do: discover a new way to get rid of dust?" I taunted as her face turned red in rage before she balled her fists and tried several times to punch me in the face: making me bob and weave smoothly out of reach with a cocky smirk on my face. 'Alright, enough of this.' I thought as her swings got more sloppy and careless before I snatched the bill of her red cap down over her eyes so she couldn't see what I was doing.

As she reached up to clear her vision, I launched myself forward and delivered a savage punch to her gut, making her keel over in shock. Before she could recover, I grabbed the top of her head and smashed her forehead into my knee: breaking her nose AGAIN and knocked her unconscious with a pitiful yelp. "Goddamn, remind me to never piss you off, Saphira." Kenny said nervously as he shouldered his bow so he could help me turn the second wheel and open the gate. "Don't worry Kenny, you guys are safe: unless Eric decides to try something particularly stupid." I said, not really reassuring him but he didn't comment as the wheel stopped turning, giving us free reign to enter the now-open gate and the new territory beyond.

Sharing a determined look, we kept our weapons close as we cautiously stepped through the gate and took in the arena-like qualities of the large open room. I had to admit, Clyde had awesome taste in the decor of his fortress, if more than a bit intimidating: the outer walls were lines with tires, barrels and boxes with lethal-looking spears resting in them, while a pair of Styrofoam skulls sat impaled on spikes that stood just inside the doorway. Behind those were a pair of black flags with red rings lining white skulls resting on beams supporting the upper floor that has small dark-red flags lining the frame. To each side of the flags, were a group of three armored cows standing behind barred gates: making me wonder how the hell these kids managed to get COWS into a treehouse.

Glancing upwards, my sapphire eyes locked with the traitorous Craig's green ones as he crouched on the railing on the second floor. As we continued our stand-off, my gaze momentarily flicked to Craig's right and spotted Stan peeking through a poorly boarded up doorway. "Come on! Now's our only chance!" he shouted, drawing Craig's gaze lazily to him before Kenny and I both took a step forward, both of us knowing that Craig was NOT going to be an easy enemy to beat. 'Remember, it's only a game.' I thought, reminding myself of the consequences if I were to use ANY of the virus's abilities against any of my friends. However, as soon as we took that step, did the gate behind us pull the classic move and slammed itself shut, locking us inside the arena.

'Well shit.' I thought with a sigh as Craig spread his arms out and let out an obviously-rehearsed evil laugh that honestly sounded better than Clyde's, I wasn't going to say that to him though: I wasn't THAT mean. "Ha ha! You're trapped! I'm a level 14 Thief AND the Dark Lord's Chief Assassin and you will all perish here and now!" he declared as I rolled my eyes while Kenny gulped nervously as Craig ran over to each of the levers located behind him and pulled each in turn: releasing the cows from their cages. 'Yum! There's always time for a steak dinner: beats the junk food I'm usually stuck with.' I thought morbidly at my definition of 'food' that was currently being hunted down and being torn apart by the Hunters I had tamed.

My attention on Craig was stolen by a sudden and persistent 'banging', making me look to where I spotted Stan and saw he was still there: only he now wore a worried and slightly-panicky expression on his face as he tried to break through the wooden boards blocking his path. "Saphira, I'm stuck! Can you get me in?" he yelled, making me quickly look around for something to help him, but couldn't find much of anything that would help. "No, I can't see anything and Craig has the ladder up with him!" I yelled back, causing several curses to come from Stan as Craig finished releasing the three armored cows from their cages.

"My Nazi Cow minions will make short work of you!" Craig said, making my stomach lurch at the thought of consuming undead cows. "Well, this just keeps getting better and better." I said with heavy sarcasm as Kenny readied his bow while the sickly-green cows snorted and stamped their feet at us. "Now, let's see how you fare against the Dark Lord's Chief Assassin and some COWS." Craig stated as he crouched down and jumped in a very Batman-like fashion from the railing to directly across from us, the rapidly-decaying corpses of the cows backing him up with their milky-white eyes narrowed in hatred and hunger. "Uh…Saphira, y-you've fought shit like this before…what do we do?" Kenny questioned nervously as Craig and his zombie cows slowly advanced on us.

"Well…we can either cry like toddlers: or we can kick their asses. Personally, I've lost my appetite for steak tonight." I said as I took a closer look at the cows behind Craig: besides the fact that they were decaying and leaving extremely-rancid parts and drippings on the wooden floor, they wore the telltale Swastikas on their left forelegs and high-ranking Officer Hats on top of their heads. Tilting my head to the side, I was able to see the shotgun bandoleers wrapped diagonally around their shoulders. "You never should have betrayed us, Craig." Kenny growled as I drew my sword and ran at Alex's former mentor. Putting the sword away at the last second, I smirked at Craig's confused expression before I jumped high up in the air: easily able to brush the ceiling if I lifted my arm up high enough.

Letting gravity take me, I slammed my feet into the floor: causing the floorboards to lift up and move in the direction of the shockwave that barreled into not only Craig, but all three of his cows too. "What the hell?!" Craig yelped from his position on the floor as the Nazi cows toppled over on their sides before staggering back to their feet: two of them left most of their organs and innards on the floor as they did. Fortunately for Kenny and I, the alien goo that the cows had been infected with had caused them to decay so rapidly, that once they stood up again: they melted into a rancid mass of brownish-green mush on the floor.

"Oh my fucking god! My nose!" I wailed as I buried my lower face in the flaps of my jacket and struggled to keep the tears at bay as the smells that assaulted me dwarfed those I had to deal with in Kenny's garage. Cursing the virus to hell and back, my eyes widened before I dropped to my knees and felt like I was going to be sick. Considering I didn't have anything to throw up, the only thing I could do was deal with the painful dry heaves as I sat helplessly on the floor. Wincing when something collided with my head, I looked in the direction of Kenny and saw that he tossed a bottle of water at me.

Sending him a grateful smile at his attempt to help, I downed the full bottle in two gulps before getting back up and ready to face Craig again. Watching Kenny as he stepped forward, he narrowed his eyes at Craig's indifferent expression before he notched and shot not one, but three arrows: all of which hit home in the center of Craig's chest but didn't seem to do very much damage. 'Shit, it's his turn.' I thought as I tried to figure out what he was going to do. With that same look of indifference, Craig charged forward before he lowered his right shoulder and raised his serrated, wooden dagger in his left hand.

"Let's rumble." he said as he suddenly tossed his dagger and caught it in his right hand: distracting us as he grabbed a smoke bomb in his free hand. "Why fight one Craig, when you can fight five?" he questioned as he threw down the smoke bomb: momentarily blinding us before the cloud disappeared and revealed four more boys dressed exactly like Craig had joined him. The only difference between Craig's 'clones' was the fact that the closest one to me was dark-skinned and had a bandage on his left cheek. "Yikes." Kenny gulped as all five boys brandished their identical weapons in a threatening display. "You should've turned evil when you had the chance." all of the boys stated in unison, making my ears hurt as I narrowed my eyes at the real Craig, who was standing in the back of the group.

"Evil? What would YOU know about it?! You wouldn't know evil if it came up and bit you in the ass." I barked, making Kenny turn to me with a worried expression in his eyes and it looked like he was about to forget the rules to this game and kick Craig in the balls. "That's the problem with you, you always think you know about everything. Which is why the Dark Lord will prevail and you won't. Your brother knew who was going to win this war from the start: just give it up and go home." Craig said from behind his 'clones' as I felt a rumbling growl dominate my voice box: until Kenny reached over and grabbed my shoulder.

"Saphira, Saphira calm down, he doesn't mean anything by it: he's only trying to make you mad so you lose focus. Hey Craig, shut the fuck up!" he suddenly yelled after I managed to control both my temper and my twitchy body suit as I focused on the game again. Drawing my sword again, I rushed the dark-skinned Craig and hit him as hard as I was allowed: probably hitting him harder than I should have, judging by the sniffles coming from the kid as he ran off. 'One down, four to go: the sooner he's down the better off we'll be.' I thought as I backed off to my original spot. However, as soon as I did, the clone that was behind the one I had just defeated sprinted forward and slashed at Kenny: who struggled to block with his bow.

Once the clone retreated, Kenny shook his head before pulling back his bowstring and fired an arrow at the clone in the middle: forcing him into a retreat, leaving three clones left. "What are you doing? Stop!" Craig shouted as he finally realized what was happening. "Good job, Kenny: only three to go!" I cheered as we stared down the three boys, making me wonder something: Craig seems almost…bored? No. No, not bored: biding his time, making me all the more wary of him as I took in his seemingly-emotionless expression and I could've sworn I saw a devious smirk on his face.


	57. Chapter 57

Running forward in a surprising burst of speed, the real Craig raised his dagger and slashed at Kenny in a flurry of strikes and combos even I had trouble seeing. Which was why I cringed when my feminine-dressed companion got hit particularly hard on the top of his head: making him drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes. "Kenny!" I yelped as he released his grip on his bow and didn't stand back up again, making me realize that Kenny had been 'killed' and wasn't going to be able to help me defeat Craig and his remaining clones.

Before I could make my move, the clone closest to Kenny charged me and tried to hit me with the same combo that had taken Kenny down: only to find that I had blocked his attack by grabbing his wrist. "Hey!" he yelped as I sent him a mischievous smirk before I twirled around in a circle: dragging the helpless boy along until I let go: sending the clone flying back and into the other two boys. "Lesson one: don't leave yourself open, or shit like that will happen. And by the way, Craig: taking out Kenny was a bad idea, because now you have ME to deal with." I said as I slipped into the Leopard stance and waited for him to make a move, considering it was now a fight between me and him with no clones to hide behind.

Closing his eyes, Craig spread his arms out and looked like he was focusing really hard on something, making me realize he was trying to channel his 'power'. 'If I let him hit me with that, he might just beat me. I can't let him win because if he does, Clyde gets to keep The Stick and who knows what would happen then.' I thought as I made to attack, only to find that I took too long as Craig suddenly flipped his dagger in a stabbing position while taking a Tiger fighting stance of his own. 'Oh, shit.' I gulped as Craig smirked at me before back-flipping and tossing a smoke bomb on the floor: blocking my vision from him for a few seconds before it dawned on me that he wasn't standing across from me anymore. 'Well, if he's gonna be like that.' I thought as I closed my eyes and discretely took a sniff: mapping my surroundings based on smell and found that Craig was going to be…I whirled around on the balls of my feet and brought my sword up just in time to block the three overhead stabs and one frontal stab from the sneaky Thief.

"Nice try, but my reflexes are FAR superior to yours: which means you can't hit me Craig." I stated as his eyebrow twitched: the most emotion I saw out of him yet. "Don't get cocky 'Savior', you still have yet to beat me." Craig said as I suddenly sheathed my sword in my belt and picked up Kenny's bow with his only remaining arrow. Taking my stance, I notched the slightly-bent arrow, pulled the string with my right hand, took careful aim, and fired: hitting Craig right between the eyes. "No more!" he yelped before glaring at me as he took off running in the opposite direction and away from me, only to trip over his own feet and fall to the floor.

Shouldering Kenny's bow, I jogged over to Kenny as he started to sit up, only to grip his head in pain. "I didn't need special powers to hear Craig's blade crack your skull, you okay?" I asked as I crouched in front of him and checked to make sure he wasn't too badly hurt. "Whoa, Saphira…since when are there three of you?" he questioned as he shakily stood up and swayed from side-to-side as if he were drunk. "I think you should sit for a bit." I advised as I caught his arm, stopping him from falling flat on his face, unintentionally making him look at me. "Only if you sit with me." he said to the wall as I handed him a water bottle and waved at Butters, who joined us as soon as the gate opened itself back up.

"Normally I wouldn't mind, but we're SO close to finishing this, and I'd like to do it before 'they' show up." I said cryptically so poor Butters wouldn't have a panic-attack. Nodding in understanding, Kenny took his bow back and several arrows I carried with me from the last bow I used. "Alright, then. I'll just stay here then: can't have Clyde calling for reinforcements now can we?" he said with a wink, making me roll my eyes and scoff good-naturedly at his antics before I stood back up and smiled at Butters. Waving goodbye to Kenny, I led Butters over to the ladder Craig had tied up on the second floor: passing the defeated Thief as we did.

"Justice has been served unto you this day, Craig." Butters said as I picked up one of the spears and threw it: cutting through the rope and letting the ladder down so we could climb up and out of the arena. Walking over to the left, I clenched my right fist and gave the barricade a good punch: shattering the boards and letting Stan and Kyle inside with us. "Whoa, dude." Kyle said as he jumped to the side to avoid the sharp splinters of wood. "Sorry, and sorry about not finding a way inside for you, Stan." I apologized as the elf king adjusted his crown while Stan shook his head. "Don't worry about it, watching you kick the shit out of Craig made up for it." he said with a grin as I looked behind them to see if Alex was with them, only to not see him anywhere.

"He's with Cartman, Wizard Fatass said something about wanting to keep an eye on him to make sure he wasn't a traitor and join Clyde's side after Craig did." Kyle said, making me nod in understanding as I frowned. 'Why now? Of all the times for Alex to have an 'episode' why did it have to be right then?' I wondered before I followed Stan and Kyle through the doorway and up a short staircase, with Butters following close behind. Running up the steps, I almost tripped as I came to a sudden stop, shocked to find who I did standing in the hallway. Stepping aside as Stan walked past me, I watched as Randy turned around and smiled at us.

"Dad, what the hell are you doing here?" Stan questioned as Randy approached us and I couldn't help but snicker in my sleeve: he was shirtless with a large red-brown belt around his waist, while gray boxers made up for his lack of pants. Instead of a cape like some of us wore, Randy's was hardly anything more than a light-blue bath towel tied around his neck. On his left arm was a small green shield with a purple dragon painted on it while he held a large sword in his right hand. As he walked closer, I saw that he had brown cowboy boots on his feet, making me wonder how the hell he dresses himself in the morning with the mismatched getup, but I had to give the adult credit for trying: my parents wouldn't be caught DEAD playing with us.

"Oh! It's my favorite kids!" Randy cheered as Eric and Alex walked up the steps behind us. Walking right past Stan, Randy twirled his sword before stabbing it in the rug and knelt at our feet. 'Damn, he favors us over his own son? That's fucked up.' I thought as I sent an apologetic look to Stan as he stared at his father with a hurt and betrayed look on his face. "Listen! I found out what they were doing at the Taco Bell! They were searching for a candidate to put a Snuke into! They couldn't use the PROTOTYPE because they can't find it! They're going to NUKE ALL OF SOUTH PARK!" he suddenly yelled, making my blood run cold while Alex instinctively grabbed my hand. 'There is no way on this earth am I going to let that happen! I stopped it once, I can do it again.' I thought as I clenched my jaw to the point where my teeth hurt but I didn't care: my new home and friends were threatened: and I'd be DAMNED if I let Blackwatch, Gentek and whoever the fuck else threaten anything that was important to me.

Taking my gaze from Randy, I focused my hearing and felt a stab of fear run through my body as several dozen military vehicles quickly made their way in our direction. 'Shit! I have to wrap this up! Fast!' I thought as Kyle decided to speak up and drew my attention to him. "A Snuke?" he asked in confusion, and I understood why: I was VERY familiar with Nukes, but a Snuke? These people have the weirdest names for things, if a Nuke and a Snuke were the same thing, that is. "You kids don't understand, they put the Snuke HERE." Randy pressed, jamming his sword deeper into the floor as he did, making me all the more nervous as the sounds of the incoming military came closer.

"Who did?" Kyle asked as I glanced out of the large window to my left and swore I felt my heart stop: the sky was nearly BLACK with Blackwatch choppers while the ground shook with combat tanks of almost every size and shape. In between the convoys were hundreds of Blackwatch troops: the visors on their gasmasks gleaming like thousands of hellish eyes in the growing darkness, and they were ALL coming this way. "Whoever these people are CLAIMING to be Taco Bell." Randy answered, as I clenched my fists to try to control my fear and body suit from going haywire at the approaching death on two legs. As the rest of the boys watched Randy as he stood up and started to pace, I wracked my brain as I rapidly tried to come up with a plan that will SOMEHOW take care of Blackwatch and protect the town at the same time.

'COME ON! Think, damn you! You have Hunters and you have Nazi zombies, use those to stall for a while!' I plotted frantically as Randy started to explain to us the compassion of 'Taco Bell' while remaining oblivious to my panic. "We should have known, we should have known Taco Bell is far too compassionate and caring to be so secretive." he said as he dragged his sword along the wooden floor, making an awful racket as I made a mental head-count of my friends and found many of them still fighting on the ground. 'I already told you that.' I thought as I rolled my eyes before zipping up my jacket: silently commanding the virus to be ready for use. When I couldn't take the stress anymore, I loudly cleared my throat, shutting Randy up and drawing everyone's attention to my rigid form. "I REALLY hate to interrupt you all, but…we have company." I said ominously, which was unfortunately lost on Butters.

"R-Really?! We're gonna have new friends?! Oh boy! I wonder if they wanna play with us!" Butters cheered, making me desperately want to rip my hair out at his innocence but couldn't waste time on that right now. "Not that kind of company, Butters." I sighed angrily, making Stan and Kyle glance nervously at each other as Randy tilted his head to the side as he shouldered his sword. "What kind of company do you mean then?" Stan asked as all the boys FINALLY took notice of my sickly-gray face, causing Alex to tremble and hide underneath Randy's cape with a whimper. Without a word, I shakily pointed out the window, causing the boys to curiously look outside: only to express their own terror soon after. "Holy, fuck." Eric whispered as his shaking grip eventually caused him to drop his staff, not that anybody took notice, however.

"F-F-Friends of y-y-yours?" Jimmy stuttered as he slowly started to back away from the window, as if that would protect him somehow. "You could say that." I spat hatefully as Stan curled up on the floor and started crying: knowing there was NO way any of us could escape without being spotted. And that's when I knew, the people of this town grew on me, accepting me when they knew who and what I was: that sort of kindness can only be repaid one way: question was, was I willing to go that far…in order to save those who should've never known this sort of evil?


	58. Chapter 58

Knowing what I had to do, I shook off my fear and turned to Kyle with a request in mind. "Kyle, I need to borrow your war-horn." I said as he looked at me like I was nuts, and quite frankly, I thought I was too. As he handed over the horn, I settled my stone-cold gaze on each of my friends in turn before settling my stare on Eric, who wrung his gloved hands around his hat nervously. "Keep the game going." was all I said before I nodded once as I pulled my hood up until nothing but my mouth could be seen before I turned around and jumped out the window: ignoring the multiple people calling my name as I free-fell the four stories to the ground.

Landing in the snow with a solid 'thud' I barely registered everyone else around me as I took off in a sprint over Clyde's fence and in the direction of the Blackwatch army. When I was out of range of any innocent people, I tensed my legs and jumped clear over several overturned cars and onto the roof of Tom's Rhinoplasty. Baring my teeth, I gripped the war-horn before I sent the biomass to quickly swarm over it: shifting and changing it into a larger, metal version of its original form. Using my Whipfist, I constructed a barricade out of all the cars I could reach and lined them up across the street: blocking Blackwatch's path from moving any closer to my friends.

'Alright you fuckers, come and get some.' I thought with malice as the convoy slowed to an eventual stop as they couldn't pass my barricade: much to the annoyance of the foot-soldiers. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" one of the Commanders growled as they soon discovered that their only option would be to turn back. Deciding to have some fun, I took a deep breath before releasing an unearthly howl that sounded exactly like a Hollow from Bleach: relishing as every single one of those soldiers jumped before raising their weapons and searching in every direction at once for the source of the noise. "What the hell WAS that Sergeant?!" one of the minors exclaimed, and much to my delight: several dozen of them apparently shit themselves.

'Oh yeah, I'm DEFFINATELY using that on Halloween.' I smirked as I quietly crept along the roof and silently leapt to another building. "How the fuck should I know?! It was probably ZEUS fucking with us!" the Sergeant snapped, unknowingly hitting the nail right on the head as I glanced over the side of my perch like a predator. Letting loose a loud laugh, I caught their attention again as the tanks swiveled their turrets as they searched for me. Before they could shine a light on me, I jumped again and out of sight of my new playthings, while sending little 'packages' for my new friends as I did so.

"Not fun being hunted, is it?" I called as well over four dozen weapons flew to the source of my voice. "Quit fucking with us and show yourself, monster!" one of the Commanders ordered to the place I had just been, only to hear me laugh somewhere behind him. "Fucking with you? Is THAT what you think I'm doing?" I questioned as I let them see me for a split moment: having to perform several dodge-rolls in order to avoid the hurricane of bullets and tank shells that crashed into the building I was standing on. "Remember, McMullen wants it ALIVE!" someone shouted over the bullet-storm, making me happy that this group was stupid and were wasting their ammo like I'd hoped.

Making sure my mental command over the virus still stood strong, I couldn't hold back the gleeful laugh as I leapt from the branches of a nearby tree and flipped onto the top of a shot-out streetlight. "THERE IT IS!" a Commander shouted, immediately drawing every single pair of glowing gold and cobalt lenses to me as I lounged on the top of the streetlight without a care in the world. "Hiya, Blackwatch! Nice evening don't you think?" I greeted as my glowing body suit shone like a dying beacon in the pitch darkness of the night. "What are you fuckers being paid for?! SHOOT IT!" the same Commander yelled as every single soldier raised his weapons and pulled the trigger: only to be met with a very loud chorus of 'clicking' as they soon discovered what my original plan had been.

"Uh-oh! Looks like you boys have no more bullets, what a shame: I was enjoying playing with you. Here's the thing: you lot are trespassing on MY turf! You come here threatening my family, my friends, and everyone else who has no part in any of this: and I'm NOT happy about it." I snarled as I raised my hand and snapped my gloved fingers: causing an immediate reaction that very soon had Blackwatch panicking. You see: with every jump, and every lunge, I had been leaving traces of the virus like mines all around the soldiers. Once I snapped my fingers, the virus became a living net: snaring and constricting their legs and ensuring no possible way of escape, and they all knew it.

Ignoring their frightened pleas, I set my orange gaze to the reason why so much death and destruction has occurred throughout the years and I was determined to put a permanent end to it all as I jumped on top of one of the tanks without an ounce of fear for the source of all my previous nightmares. "Now, before we wrap up this 'lovely' meeting, I have only ONE thing to say to you assholes: Erin Go Brag. Which, my dear Blackwatch Scum, is Irish for 'You're Fucked.' I find it…VERY appropriate, don't you? No? Well, let's see if THIS will change your minds." I said in sadistic glee as I raised the new-and-improved war-horn and blew into it: making it sound as if a Tuba were hooked up to an amplifier, making several soldiers cover their ears through their gasmasks.

Once the echoes subsided, there was a deathly silence that was unnerving…for them. Once my sensitive ears picked up the signal, I split my face into a shit-eating grin before I turned around and jumped back up on top of Tom's Rhinoplasty. "Sadly, its time I head back, but OH, PLEASE don't be sad you fucking baby-killers, I'm sure my 'friends' would be more-than-happy to entertain you!" I cheered as I spread my arms out: revealing not only the Hunter pack, but half the town's worth of Nazi zombies too. Crossing my arms tightly over my chest, I gave a bloodthirsty smile as their dying shrieks and cries of pure fear and agony made my body suit tremble in anticipation.

With a sort of sick satisfaction, I watched as the Hunters picked up the tanks and threw them at the choppers: bringing them down to the ground and to the hungry monsters below. Feeling nothing but satisfaction at the carnage happening mere yards away from me, I turned away from the trapped Blackwatch soldiers and their murderers and I casually ran back to Clyde's treehouse: vaulting over the barricade of cars and sprinted straight up the sides of multiple buildings before leaping and flipping from streetlight to streetlight like a gymnast before reaching the base of the tree in Clyde's backyard. Even from where I stood, I could still clearly hear the chaos happening just down the street: making me feel bad for any and all witnesses to the carnage but couldn't be bothered to care too much.

Hooking my fingers, I stealthily climbed up the tree and back up to the window I had jumped out of: listening intently to the boys as they freaked out inside. "Holy fuck! Holy shit, dude!" Stan yelped as I glanced over my shoulder, just in time to watch the Alpha Hunter jump into the air, rip one of the few remaining Blackwatch choppers in two, and throw the pieces into another pair of choppers: causing an explosion of metal and fire that easily lit up three blocks.

"Why?! Why would Saphira do this? Those people have families too!" Kyle said in utter confusion and outrage, making a stab of hurt rush through me for a second before it was gone as I heard Eric gulp loudly before speaking up. "It's 'cause she's a monster, Jew-King. Get it through your Ginger head: your girlfriend has those dudes after her for a reason and now that those douchebags are here: you REALLY think she's gonna let them leave?" he explained, making me roll my eyes angrily at the fact that he called me a monster again, but couldn't let it bother me because that's how he was, regardless of what I would say.

"God damnit Cartman, she's NOT my girlfriend!" Kyle snapped as the sound of a blunt object colliding with wood echoed dully over the sounds of battle: signally the fact that Kyle bashed his fist on the windowsill. "Ha-Ha! Then why's your face all red, Jew-boy?" Eric taunted from above me and I couldn't help but smirk, the look on poor Kyle's face must've been priceless, though I was happy that the boys were quick to focus on something else. "Speaking of Saphira, anybody see where she went? I mean, that costume of hers isn't THAT hard to see, but I don't see her anywhere." Stan said, making it apparent that I had hidden from the boys long enough: it was time to face the music and continue playing, or say goodbye if they never forgave me.

Shifting my weight, I leapt straight up and used the virus's biomass to 'hover' as I came face-to-face with the terrified kids: the wind billowing the loose fabric of my body suit around for a minute before I placed my left palm on the railing and griped it tight. Swinging my legs, I spun on my hand before landing on the railing in a balanced crouch: easily appearing far more sinister than Mysterion ever could, considering my appearance and lighting of the hallway.

Through the deep, dark shadows covering most of my face, I was able to see that my eyes were glowing a fiery-orange through a small mirror hanging on the wall across from me. "Somebody call me?" I asked as the boys took several steps back: proving the fact that they are all terrified of me. "Sa-Saphira! D-Dude, you scared the shit out of us." Stan stuttered as I hopped down from the railing and took in all of their expressions, being mindful of a hanging brazier burning right next to my head.

"Yeah, I have that effect on people as I have said before. I can also see that you are afraid of me, however: everything I do is for a reason as I have told you before, Kyle. These 'people' are the reason for all of this: why the town is the way it is right now, I told you they wouldn't stop looking for me. I'm sorry they found me, but like Eric said: they won't be leaving because if they do, they MIGHT just take a few of you with them. And trust me when I say, the things that they are capable of…you're gonna wish you were dead LONG before they will allow you to be." I said as Alex nervously trotted out from behind Randy and engulfed my waist in a tight bear-hug.

"You saw the tape, Kyle: am I the REAL monster here? I know you try to see the good in everyone: but these guys…the world will be much better off." I trailed off as he stared me in the eye before nodding solemnly, just as Eric walked up to me and pat me heavily on the back: almost knocking me to the floor with the force. "You are officially the most badass chick I have ever seen, I can see the hell we would be able to raise from the little show you put on. And the fact that you aren't Ginger, or a Jew just makes it that much better, so what say you, MacManus: want to quest for world domination?" Eric questioned, ignoring Kyle's angry retorts as he sent a wicked grin my way as he waited for my reply.

"You make a quality offer, but the only revenge quest I have is my own: once those responsible for this are dealt with, I only want to live my life in peace. You want to quest for world domination, be my guest: just leave me out of it." I said as he suddenly glared at me for a minute before storming back to the others with a huff. It was then that I had noticed something I didn't particularly want to: tied to a wooden beam, was a man in a long light-gray shirt with a black vest over it, no pants…or undergarments, while he wore a black policeman's hat and a pair of black cowboy boots on his feet.

All in all, this guy both disgusted me and creeped me out as Randy tore his gaze from the window I just entered before walking over to Alex and I, and I had a feeling that what he was about to say…would turn the tide in the war for The Stick: but in which direction remained to be seen.


	59. Chapter 59

As soon as Randy came to a stop, he crouched down to our level with a surprisingly-happy grin on his face. "You did it! You destroyed the 'Taco Bell' imposters, while your brother disarmed the Snuke! South Park is saved!" he cheered, making me wonder how Alex managed to do that, only to decide I didn't want to know: judging by the sickly-green color of Alex's partially-exposed face. As he stood back up, Eric adjusted his hat and picked up his stick off the floor before speaking up.

"Yes, now it's time to finish this, Commander. Let's beat Clyde once and for all and reclaim The Stick of Truth!" he said as he raised his stick in the air before storming past me and led the way down the hallway and into the direction of the final room of the massive treehouse, that ironically had a paper sign with the words 'Evil Throne Room' written in purple crayon with a pair of black skull and crossbones drawn on either side of the writing.

Looking closer, I saw blood-red fabric covering the doorway and blocking our vision from seeing what was inside: making me wary of the obvious ambush waiting for us inside. "You should rejoice, Commander: it'll all be worth it once we get The Stick back." the Grand Wizard said as I swallowed nervously before nodding curtly as I stepped next to him as we walked through the red curtains at the same time, cueing the others to follow as I spotted Kenny running up the stairs behind us while holding his dress above the ground as he hurried to catch up with us.

Sending him a welcoming smile, I let him give me a one-arm hug before we readied our weapons and walked across the short bridge to the place where Clyde held The Stick hostage and I couldn't help but notice the multiple red biohazard barrels scattered around the treehouse, not giving me a good feeling at all. Pushing aside the forest-green shower curtains, I cleared the path for the united races to enter Clyde's throne room: where the Warlord in question stood between a red barrel and a red chair with a pair of cardboard 'horns' taped to the sides with a white skull painted on the back.

Taking a closer look at the barrel, I gulped nervously as I saw a spigot with a clear tube attached to it and leading to a large, dirty coffin to the far right of the room. 'How the HELL did these kids get a fucking COFFIN up here?!' I thought in morbid amazement before glaring at Clyde as he let out that half-assed evil laugh again: and I clearly wasn't the only one pissed off with him at this point. "Fools! You thought you could conquer the Fortress of Darkness?!" Clyde yelled as he rested his right hand on the valve of the spigot, making all of us shift nervously at the crazed, maniacal look in his eyes as he tightly gripped The Stick in his left hand.

"Clyde! Back away from that stuff!" Stan called, trying to reason with the friend that had clearly fallen to madness as a loud crack of thunder sounded, startling Alex and the rest of the boys from their dazed stupor. "Oh, but I have yet to complete my army! You have come to witness the power of Darkness!" Clyde said as his grip tightened on the valve, making me narrow my eyes at him. "Clyde, I'm warning you right now: what you are playing with CAN'T be controlled, you release that stuff…you can get everyone killed!" I shouted, making a sarcastic laugh escape Clyde's mouth: as if he thought I was joking.

"Saphira's right, Clyde: you have NO idea what that stuff is!" Kyle said as he stared across the room with a worried look on his face. "Yeah huh, it's Green Sauce from Taco Bell. I took it from their construction site." Clyde explained, making me slap myself in the face in a heavy face-palm at his sheer stupidity as Eric slammed the end of his stick down on the floor. "Dude, that's not Taco Bell sauce: that construction site is a government secret base!" Stan tried to reason again, only for his plea to fall on deaf ears as Eric decided to try his luck at getting through to the bull-headed kid.

"It leaked out of a fucking UFO, CLYDE! Its toxic goo from another galaxy! THINK ABOUT IT! SINCE WHEN DOES TACO BELL HAVE A GREEN SAUCE, DUDE?!" Eric yelled as he poked the side of his head for emphasis, making me raise my eyebrows in shock. 'That has to be the most intelligent thing he has ever said.' I thought as my attention was stolen by Kyle as he just HAD to go and ruin it. "Actually, since about a year ago." he said, drawing everyone's attention to him while I shared a deadpanned look with Alex. "What?!" Eric questioned, as if he hadn't heard what Kyle said as I pulled my hood lower over my face in shame. 'You guys get distracted WAY too easily.' I thought with a heavy sigh as I decided to humor the boys for a minute.

"Taco Bell has a Green Sauce now." Kyle repeated, causing a look of disbelief to appear on Eric's face. "No way." he denied, as if he thought Kyle was kidding when he actually wasn't. "They've had it longer than a year I've always gotten Spicy Green Burritos." Stan corrected as he turned to look at Kyle, completely forgetting about the pretty serious situation we were currently stuck in. "Boys." I called, trying to get their attention to focus back on the fact that Clyde could very well kill us with the stuff inside that barrel. "Yeah, no, I'm saying in the packets. They've just started putting Green Sauce in packets." Kyle continued, ignoring me as Eric suddenly whirled around and stood face-to-face with Kyle and Stan.

"The Fuck?! How the fuck did I miss this?" Eric questioned as he prepared to get into an argument we just didn't have time for. "BOYS!" I yelled, making Eric jump as they all turned to me with various expressions, only to become serious again as I jerked my head in Clyde's direction as he continued his typical 'Evil Mastermind' rant. "HA HA! I DON'T SEEM SO FOOLISH NOW, DO I!?" he cackled as if he had just proven his point that the toxic waste was in fact Green Sauce and was completely harmless. "Clyde! Listen to us, damnit! That stuff is DANGEROUS!" I yelled as Kyle stepped forward and pointed angrily at him with a nasty glare on his face.

"That doesn't mean YOU have Taco Bell Green Sauce, dipfuck!" Kyle insulted, making me raise my eyebrow at the normally level-headed elf king that seemed to be rapidly losing his patience. "Yeah, Clyde, why do you think that shit's GLOWING?!" Stan argued, proving a very good point: only to have it fly completely over Clyde's head as the Dark Lord in question glanced nonchalantly at the red biohazard barrel before looking at us again. "Maybe because of the three varieties of Chili Peppers." Clyde replied, making me punch myself in the head at the sheer STUPIDITY of this kid.

"Clyde, I'm going to warn you just this once: get away from that stuff, before I say 'fuck the rules' and make you!" I growled, ignoring the instant silence as the boys all looked at me nervously: as though they believed I would do to Clyde what I've done to Blackwatch. "You really think you can stand up to the Lord of Darkness and my army of the undead?! Don't make me laugh, New Kid: you think you're the all high and mighty 'Savior', but this day you will pay for not joining me!" Clyde declared, making my vision turn a slight-orange color as Eric stomped forward with a pissed off look on his face.

"Just give us The Stick, asshole." he said as he held his hand out, obviously getting tired of this argument going in circles with no end in sight. Blinking as a bright flash of lightning followed by a loud 'crack' of thunder, I watched in numb horror as Clyde's eyes flashed dangerously before a malicious smirk stretched across his face. "Or what? You'll beat me up? Ha Ha…I've got another surprise for you!" he exclaimed as he turned the valve: releasing the neon-green goo through the clear hose and gradually across the floor and into the coffin resting on a medical gurney.

"Saphy…" Alex whimpered as he tightened his grip on my jacket and hit behind me like the scared little kid he was. Stepping in front of him, I readied my sword and shared a determined look with the boys, making sure everyone was ready for whatever was going to break out of that coffin. For a few tense seconds, nothing happened: until the green goo stopped flowing into the coffin, where mere seconds later a large decaying fist punched through the lid of the stone coffin. 'That can't be good.' I thought as the fist was joined by a second: forcing the lid to crack and break apart before falling to the floor with a loud 'crash': allowing the decaying zombie free-reign to leave his final resting place.

'Honestly Clyde, how dare you disturb the resting dead?' I thought in disgust, taking pity on the dead man that had been disturbed from his peace and was now being forced to fight us against whatever will he would've had. He was a big guy with a full beard on his face, a white Chef's hat on top of his head while a stained and torn red shirt covered his big round belly. Ignoring the Swastika on his left arm, I noticed his decaying, green flesh was a darker color than the other zombies I had seen: giving me the idea that this man might've been dark-skinned when he was alive.

As he opened his eyes and stared at us, I noticed that his face was covered in stitches, making me feel even worse for the poor guy. It was then that the zombie sat up in his coffin and unlike the other Nazi zombies: THIS one started SINGING! "I'm gonna make love to ya womannnn…." he sang, making the boys cry out in fear: making me wonder if they knew this man, which was a possibility considering how small the town was.

As the zombie hopped out of his coffin, I saw that his red shirt was shredded at the bottom: exposing a 'delightful' view of his stitched-up but decaying belly as some of his stitches came loose and gave me an even 'better' view of his innards: making me extremely grateful that his blue jeans weren't in the same condition.

"Ich werde meinen Meister durch die Vernichtung zuerst, Sie beschissen Ausrede für eine Assassin's Creed wannabe bitte." the zombie said, turning to me as he raised his right arm, making an angry scowl appear on my face as Eric started laughing his ass off, despite the circumstances. "Well, fuck you too, Mr. Zombie and shut the hell up Cartman!" I snapped as he pulled off his hat and used it to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Do we WANT to know what he said?" Kenny asked as I clenched my fists and fought the urge to smack the fatass…or knock him out of the treehouse.

"He said he was going to please his 'Master' by killing me first…and also called me a shitty excuse for an Assassin's Creed wannabe." I mumbled as Eric laughed harder, making me deflate at the extremely-personal insult, making Kenny slap a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Nodding my thanks, I sniffled before I narrowed my hidden eyes at the zombie I once held pity for, and I still do: only now I felt pity for what was going to be left after I was finished with him.


	60. Chapter 60

Stomping forward, I was shocked to find Alex walking next to me: making me realize he wanted to fight with me. Smirking at him, I stepped to the side in the Leopard stance as Alex yanked his jagged blade from his belt and took a stance of his own. "Are you ready for this, my dear brother?" I asked mischievously as his eyes crinkled up in a hidden smile before glancing at the boys: who all looked on with eager anticipation.

"Let's all make sweet lo-RAAAAAAWWWWRRRRR!" the zombie snarled as he gnashed his teeth at us, only to glance briefly at Clyde as he gave a 'kill' order as he sat upon his throne. Trying not to gag, I watched as the zombie reached into his pants and ripped out his balls before throwing them at us. 'Seriously?! What the fuck is WRONG with this thing?' I wondered as Alex blocked the offending objects before I dashed forward and dropped to the floor in a slide. Hooking my legs around his own, I twisted my body in such a way that the zombie was forced to the floor.

Rolling myself backwards and onto my feet, I back-flipped in a handspring back to my spot and send a grin in the awestruck boys' direction as the zombie stood back up with a growl. Taking his turn, I watched as Alex leapt into the air with a pair of Kunai in his hands. Throwing them at the zombie, I discovered he had several more hidden under his cloak that all found new homes in the zombie's decaying flesh with impressive accuracy before Alex came back down to the floor: whacking the zombie on the top of his head with a spiked mace as he did.

"Damn, where did you learn that one?" I asked as he came back to his spot, only to receive a shrug in reply as I turned my gaze back to the zombified adult as he took his turn. Taking out a large spatula from his back pocket, the zombie staggered forward and tried to swat Alex with it, only to be blocked by the Thief's dagger. While he was distracted, I backed up out of the ring until I was up against the wall before narrowing my gaze on the large-bellied zombie. Kicking off the wall with a sudden burst of strength, I sprinted for the zombie with my head lowered, making me appear as a black and glowing-red falcon: until I slammed my shoulder into the zombie's chest with the force of a speeding truck: sending the dead man flying backwards and smashing into the opposite wall.

"Holy shit! What the fuck was that?!" I heard Kyle exclaim from my right, making me glance at them out of the corner of my eye and send them a smirk as they cheered us on. Hearing a gargle, I looked in the direction of the zombie and found him to be working his way out of the crater in the wall and snarl viciously at me with a broken jaw and bloodied teeth. Reaching into his pants again, the zombie tried to throw his balls at me: only to have me smack them away with the flat side of my sword. Taking his turn again, Alex threw a smoke bomb on the floor before running around the side of the room and jump out behind the zombie, stabbing him hard in the back with his serrated, metal blade.

"No, no." the zombie garbled in a distorted voice, making me tilt my head at the almost-human Nazi zombie before glaring at him again. It was then that the zombie leaned forward with his mouth opened wide, exposing the rancid flesh and squirming maggots as he clawed at the air in front of him, making me realize he was going to hit us with something stronger if I didn't interfere and stop him soon. That being said, I jumped up into the air and stomped down on the floor: sending a shockwave through the floorboards and barreling into the zombie, sending him flat on his back. "Damnit, I brought you back to life, KILL these assholes!" Clyde ordered from his throne, making me glare fiercely at him from under my hood, smirking to myself as the boy flinched and stopped talking as my attention was drawn to the zombie again, just as I heard Stan speak up and call to the zombie.

"We're gonna get you out of this, Chef. Just hold on until we kill Clyde." he said, confirming my suspicions that my friends knew this man when he was still alive, poor guy. Suddenly rushing forward, the zombie picked Alex up in his large hands and savagely sank his teeth into his shoulder, regardless of how much he fought back. Once the shock wore off, I was seeing a blend of orange, red, blue and green and before I even registered my actions, I landed a vicious uppercut to the zombie's chin, making him spiral into the air as I ran at a wooden beam before rebounding off it and smashed my foot into the zombie's nose in a brutal roundhouse kick: sending him crashing to the floor.

"Nobody hurts MY family, you fucking piece of shit that will NEVER get laid! Were you born on the highway? 'Cause that's where most accidents happen!" I spat as I stood in front of my kneeling brother as the zombie shook his head and blinked hard: as if he were coming out of a daze. "What the-Children! I'm back!" the Nazi zombie, now known as 'Chef' exclaimed happily with a big grin on his face that was unfortunately short-lived as Clyde yelled in anger before he leapt down from his throne. "Must I do EVERYTHING myself!? I raised you from the dead! You have to obey! Maybe THIS will get you to listen!" Clyde yelled as he pulled something VERY familiar out of his pocket and time itself seemed to stop for me.

"C-Clyde…wh-where did you get that?" I questioned in a whisper as I took in the sight of the small glass vial in his purple gloves, drawing the attention of everyone in the room: including Chef. "Oh, this? I got it from the animatronic that got broken outside the Taco Bell before they could throw it away." he replied, making my eyes widen in utter panic at the sight of the black-cherry substance writhing around the small space. "Holy shit! Saphira…is that-" Kyle breathed fearfully as both Alex and I backed away from Clyde on shaking legs, giving the boys all the proof they needed. "C-Clyde, give that to me…that ISN'T what you think it is!" I pleaded in a squeaky voice, making the boys glance at each other with worried expressions: as they very well should.

"No way in hell, New Kid: this oil will help me win this war and destroy you all! And I'm NOT LETTING YOU TAKE THAT FROM ME!" Clyde suddenly screamed as he gripped the fragile vial tightly before throwing it: causing the thin glass to break on the side of Chef's head…and allowing the 'oil' to leak and seep into the zombie's skin. "NO!" I screeched, gripping my hood tightly and exposed the horrified look on my face as Alex screamed in terror and struggled to pull Kyle and Eric out of the room by their arms. "Clyde, you…YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" I yelled as the boy in question started laughing evilly again, only to stop suddenly as I ran across the room and snatched him by the collar of his costume.

"YOU COMPLETE UTTER MORON! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" I screamed in his face as he tried to escape my hold on him, only to have no effect on my strong grip. "MacManus, calm the fuck down, it's only oil…what could that shit POSSIBLY do?" Eric questioned as he ignored my brother's attempts to pull him to safety, Kyle and Stan looked like they wanted to grab the others and follow Alex's lead however. Before I could tear into Clyde for his ignorance, the temperature seemed to drop a good fifty degrees as I heard a bone-chilling growl behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I gulped as Chef's dark-green flesh turned a blueish-gray as he held his head in pain as another growl escaped his gritted teeth.

What appeared to be tremors in his flesh, soon turned into large, angry tendrils of black-cherry biomass as Chef's body quickly became cloaked in it: his once-friendly voice morphing and changing into something bordering demonic as he became consumed by the Blacklight virus. 'Run!' my instincts screamed as I tightened my grip on Clyde's costume and bolted for the other boys: who were cemented to the floor in terror as I threw Clyde into them and shoved them through the door.

"You guys STAY here, whatever he is turning into probably won't be able to fit through the door, stay out of his sight and DON'T follow me." I ordered, only to knock the wind out of Kenny as I punched him in the gut: making me feel horrible but I couldn't focus on that right now. "I fucking mean it! STAY put!" I snarled as the boys whimpered and trembled in a huddle as I gave them my back and stormed back into the room: just as the monster Chef had become leapt out of the writhing biomass, and even I couldn't hold back my primal fear.

He was gigantic: easily standing as tall as my house on his powerful hind legs, while the smaller of his two pairs of front legs looked as if they could be used as hands for they were raised above the ground like the arms of a velociraptor. His rotting appearance still remained, only it didn't look like he would decay any more than he already was. His remaining clothes were in shreds and hung limply around his long, thick neck and back legs as his whip-like tail slowly dragged across the floor: the bone-like spikes jutting from the rotten flesh like the spires of the treehouse. He had his back to me, allowing me to see the large, shredded wings that blindly tried to grab onto the wooden beams and branches with the hooked claws on the bat-like appendages.

As he let out a guttural hiss, I mentally cursed myself as I realized he caught my scent: making him raise his right wing as he gradually managed to turn to face me in the tight space and I couldn't help the fearful scream that was joined by those of my friends as they peeked through the doorway. His face was buff, with four piercing silver pupil-less eyes that were set in odd places: two on the side of his head where they would normally be, while the other two sat on each of his cheeks.

As his large nostrils flared, I soon found out why this was: instead of opening his jaws like an alligator, his mouth split like an opening flower: with several rows of huge teeth per side while his thick, forked tongue thrashed about in the center of the hundred or so teeth as he let out a mighty bellow that instantly covered the floor and walls of the throne room in buckets of slimy drool as I covered my ears and knelt on the floor to try to protect myself against the noise. 'Well, fuck me sideways.' I thought as a cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck as I mentally and physically prepared myself to fight the monster of a dragon that just took this game to a whole new level.


	61. Chapter 61

I barely had a split-second to react before the dragon lunged, snapping his unusual jaws directly where I had been standing as my instincts kicked in as I bounded backwards and out of the way. Observing the beast, I noticed that his massive size prevented him from moving too much, giving me a huge advantage.

With that in mind, I stood up from my defensive crouch and smirked at the creature and started laughing: much to the horror of the boys. "Aw, what's the matter? You stuck?" I taunted, just as the dragon snarled and lunged again: snapping his jaws not even a foot away from me. It wasn't until he flicked his tongue, that I was knocked back on my ass from the brute force of the offending appendage. 'Well, if you're gonna be like that.' I thought as I jumped back up and wiped the foul drool from my face before glaring at the beast.

"Alright big guy, let's dance." I said with a wicked smirk as I straightened my spine and allowed the virus to show itself: oozing and crawling around my nine-year-old form and transformed me into my all-time favorite appearance.

What had become of my original appearance melted away into a solid-black and silver version of Daedric armor from Skyrim, only instead of spikes: were smooth ridges that gave me the illusion of being extremely fit. My entire body was covered, making me look as if I had been a Blackwatch soldier dipped in brimstone and left to cool. My head was covered in a helmet-like design that had a visor that copied the look of the face of a spider, which allowed me to tell the difference between enemy and ally by an aura around the target: green for friend, red for foe.

The torso was segmented like the body of an insect but was skin-tight: showing the boys plenty, but left the actual image to the imagination. My shoulders were like the shoulder-pads of a football player's, while my arms appeared as if I was using the Musclemass: only my fingers (with the exception of my thumbs) looked as if they were stuck together in the 'live long and prosper' position.

On the ends of my hands were very short claws that really had no purpose, but I liked them anyway. The Armor gave my stomach the look of abs while my hips were protected by larger ridges that melted into segmented leggings, only to smooth over into knee-high boots.

My feet had the same appearance of my hands, only it looked as if I were wearing Japanese socks: changing my feet into those with two toes with the same short claws attached. The design of my back looked like melted metal as it had no particular pattern, but it only added to not only my protection, but the intimidation too. The back of my helmet was also ridged, but it ended in several points from the top of my head down to the back of my neck.

Giving my new form a stretch, I exposed the six lethal spines on the backs of my elbows as I readjusted to the almost unfamiliar feeling of this stage of the virus. Blinking behind the helmet, I watched my vision change: giving the monstrosity in front of me a dark-red glow as I flexed my arms: commanding the virus to change my right arm into one of the Claws, while my left morphed into the Blade.

"Holy…shit, dude." I heard from behind me, making me glance over my shoulder and through the metal spikes jutting from my right arm to see the boys peaking from around the corner of the door. Seeing their petrified faces, I internally winced: these kids were NEVER supposed to see me like this, and now all they will see when they look at me from now on is the demon standing in front of them.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I turned my attention back to the dragon as he snarled and hissed, recognizing the threat I posed to him. Bringing my weaponized arms behind me, I leaned forward for a second before I dashed forward faster than a normal human could keep up with before leaping to the side to avoid the dragon's bite. Jumping off one of the dragon's hands as he made to snatch me in his rotting grip, I slashed him in both of his left eyes with my Claw, making a terrible shriek follow the five bloody gouges the metal claws left in his decayed flesh.

Kicking off his face, I dug the tiny claws on my feet into the wooden floor as I slid across the Throne Room and came to a stop in front of the boys' hiding place. Ignoring them for now, I quickly changed my right arm into the Hammerfist and ran at the beast again the same time it lunged at me with a roar of rage. Grateful he was half-blind now, I stayed on his left side before bringing my fist forward and punched the dragon in the teeth, not only breaking half his jaw, but the force from my punch also caused him to roll over and fall out of the treehouse: completely destroying Clyde's throne and the wall behind it as it did so.

'Much better.' I thought as I jumped after him like a grasshopper, not giving him much of a chance to right himself as I flipped in the air and kicked him in the chest: sending him crashing back-first to the ground: thankfully out of the way of any battling warriors of either army. Changing my right arm again, I rapidly brought the Blade up in front of me to block against the beast's tail before I pulled back the multiple-bladed Whipfist behind me and positioned the limb around and behind me with the Xenomorph-styled tip above my head like the tail of a scorpion as I waited for the beast to make his move.

Not having to wait long, I jumped to the left as the dragon lunged and struck with the Whipfist: burying the tip into the beast's neck and used the momentum to swing myself onto the dragon's back: which he did NOT appreciate. Wrapping the extendable appendage around the dragon's neck like a lasso, I held on tight as he bucked, reared and shook relentlessly as he tried to throw me off. When that didn't work, he spread his massive wings and took to the air: knocking me flat against his putrid flesh with the force of his take-off.

As he took me on a rollercoaster ride, I couldn't help but feel like a bull-rider as I managed to look through my dizzying vision and see that the boys had come out of hiding and were watching with fearful awe at the show I was giving, while Eric and Clyde argued viciously: but I couldn't hear what they were saying over the howling wind in my ears. Fighting off the urge to vomit, I pulled back on the Whipfist: pulling the dragon's head with it as he halted in mid-air with a bellow of anger.

"Oh, shut up already!" I snapped as I raised my left arm and drove the Blade home into the side of his skull: severing the jaw from the rest of the face as the snow and ice below became dyed a sickly-red with the beast's blood as it fell from the gaping wound like rain. Yanking the Blade free, I jumped from the monster's back as it crashed on top of Clyde's fence like an over-sized ragdoll, only to shriek at me and hit me square in the chest with its tail and sent me flying into the base of the tree with a yelp.

Shaking away the stars in front of my face, I noticed with distain that two of the boney spikes that had been attached to the dragon's tail were now lodged deep inside my chest: making me thankful that the Armor prevented me from being skewered by the large spines. 'Damn, that was close.' I thought to myself as I sat up, changing both arms into the Musclemass and grabbed hold of the deeper of the two spikes by its shattered base and yanked it free with a sickening 'crunch' before tossing it aside.

Taking hold of the other one, I pulled it free and disposed of it just as the dragon staggered wobbly to its feet. Growling at him, I stood up and changed both my arms into the Blades this time before I ran at the wounded beast: the massive, black and silver blades with glowing, black-cherry veins growing over them flew behind me like wings as I jumped off the beast's mangled snout as it tried to bite me: launching myself higher in the air before landing on his back. Before the creature could do anything to stop me, I had made a savage 'X-Scissor' in front of me: severing both of the monster's wings in a brutal flurry of sinew, blood, and bone.

Gritting my jaw to the point where my teeth hurt, I tried to deal with the unearthly howl of rage and agony as the dragon shrieked louder than any sound I've ever heard before in my life. As he swayed on his trembling legs, I summoned four of my tendrils and used them to grab hold of the creature's legs as I readied my Blades again. Raising them up, I drove them deep onto the dragon's sides: dealing the killing blow as the virus's biomass crawled down the surface of the blades and into the dragon's body at a hurried pace.

Concentrating, I focused on the virus the poor man had been exposed to and used my own virus to 'talk' to it: combining both strains together as the dragon's massive body became nothing more than a huge mass of writhing biomass. Reaching my hand out after I had changed my arms back into my armored form, I touched the writhing mass: cueing the virus to crawl over my arm and mold itself to me, consuming the massive beast and adding the unfortunate soul to join the rest of the hundreds of others in the back of my mind.

Sighing with relief as the 'meal' healed my wounds, I looked through my visor to the top of the treehouse with worry for my friends as I could no longer see them or hear them. "To hell with this." I said to myself as I backed up several steps before jumping to the closest branch to me. Swinging and jumping from branch-to-branch, I free-ran back up to the Throne Room at the top of the tree, only to find the boys cringe away from me as I stood from my crouch.

"Wh-What are y-you?!" Butters stuttered fearfully, making a stab of pain and guilt hit my heart as I stared at them through my visor: lighting them all up in a soft-green glow. "As I explained at Kyle's house, I'm a shapeshifter. And I know I look scary, but do not be afraid: I mean you no harm." I explained, staying where I was in a non-threatening stance to avoid scaring them further. "You didn't explain shit, I thought you were NORMAL, not this-this MONSTER!" Clyde cried angrily as he once again held The Stick of Truth in his grasp, and I was prepared for that kind of reaction: Clyde wasn't there with us when I showed them what I was, which makes his reaction justified.

"Fuck you, asshole! Saphira may LOOK like a monster, but would a monster save lives like she just did, dude? She TOLD you not to throw that stuff at Chef, and look what it did to him!" Stan shouted in my defense, making me extremely grateful that not all of my friends saw me as a cold-blooded killer, but as a friend. "Yeah dude, did you NOT see her reaction to that stuff? Besides, she wouldn't have HAD to turn into what she is now if you hadn't used it in the first place!" Kyle snapped, making me irritated that they were talking about me as if I wasn't even there but wisely kept my mouth shut.

"Your foolish actions were brought upon yourself, it is no one's fault but your own. Do not bring forth blame on a failed plan that was YOUR fault!" Chaos growled from where Butters stood, making my jaw drop in shock from behind my helmet: Professor Chaos was defending me! What the actual fuck?! I couldn't even think as Clyde stared at me fearfully as he held The Stick out in front of him: as if the Holy Relic would protect him from me.

"Uh-Um Saphira, th-that suit of yours…can I-can I touch it?" Kenny stuttered, and I noticed with a smug smirk that he and the rest of the boys were 'trying' to avoid eye contact: instead focusing their gaze elsewhere when they thought I wasn't looking, typical guys. Nodding at his request, I walked over to them and held my right arm out for them to touch: not feeling their gloves as they cautiously ran their hands over the diamond-hard Armor.

Making a light fist as Eric tried to touch one of my claws, I pulled my arm back and became cloaked in biomass again: returning to my original form and turned to face Clyde as he gulped nervously as Eric followed my gaze before glaring at the Dark Lord in utter hatred. Stomping forward with purpose, Eric pointed at a fearful Clyde as I lowered my hood and letting my face to be revealed to the cold, December air: crossing my arms with a victorious smirk as Clyde realized he had been defeated: which would make whatever was to come next, that much sweeter.


	62. Chapter 62

As Clyde backed himself unknowingly into a corner, I couldn't help but share the victorious grin with the other boys: all of us knowing what was coming, and all-too-eager to witness it as Eric stomped right in Clyde's face with a murderous look on his face. "Your eons of torment are at an end, Ruler of Darkness!" Eric declared, slamming his stick on the floor as Clyde rapidly searched for a way to escape, only to find none as he spotted us standing at the exit: blocking his escape.

"Um…okay, um, you know what, I'm not playing anymore." Clyde said as he continued backing up until he was dangerously-close to the edge, making me take a step forward, only to freeze as Kenny grabbed my wrist and shook his head at me. Biting my lip, I decided to trust Kenny and the boys with the idea that they had it under control and there was no need to intervene. "You have broken the Rules of The Stick and therefore I banish thee. I banish thee…from SPACE AND TIME!" Eric screamed as he suddenly leaned back, and fucking SPARTAN-kicked poor Clyde hard enough to make him fly backwards and topple over the edge of his fortress.

Rushing to see where he ended up, I saw he was dangling by one hand on the railing on the floor below, and lost his grip before I could do anything to help: only to discover there was no need as he landed on an air mattress and stood up seemingly dazed, but unharmed. Turning back to the boys, I couldn't help but join them in their infectious happy smiles as I walked over and stood by Stan. "We did it, dude!" he cheered as Eric straightened himself before approaching me with a pleased look on his face.

"That was AWESOME! You did it! Your noble quest is at an end, and for all your heroic deeds and all your time put into this-I hereby promote you…to QUEEN MacManus! Congratulations! And to you, Douchebag: for all your valiant efforts to resist the call of Darkness, and proven loyalty: I hereby name you…Head Enforcer to the Queen and General of the Royal Army, Congratulations!" Eric said as he removed a cardboard crown with paper points and a purple band from under his cape and placed it on Alex's head before he gestured to Kyle, who nodded with a big grin on his face.

Turning to me, Kyle pulled out a small wooden box and removed the item inside: and I couldn't help but smile at the cheesiness of it all, but wasn't going to complain about it in the least. In his hand was a silver-painted Tiara in the shape of a dragon with big blue plastic sapphires set across the band and couldn't help but feel special and actually appreciated as he slipped it on my head. And that smile was shared with my brother as everyone present erupted into applause: promising celebration for at least a week. After exchanging high-fives and a hug with Kenny and Butters, I tilted my head in the direction of Kyle as he started talking again in an excited voice that caught everyone's attention.

"Quickly, let's get The Stick back before anyone can-" Kyle started, only to be interrupted by the loud repetitive sound of a helicopter's blades. Looking up, I was momentarily blinded by the searchlight of one of the only remaining Blackwatch choppers, making Alex hide behind me as my body suit tensed with anticipation as six ropes dropped from the hellish machine. In truth, I had been expecting petty soldiers that were eager to die, NOT the five heavily-armed D-Bags that had showed up instead in their tank-like glory. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! GO! GO! GO!" they all shouted at once, making a threatening growl escape my throat as they surrounded us and aimed their heavy artillery at us without mercy.

'Wait a sec, if they're aiming at all of us…that means they don't know which one is me.' I realized as the tension rose so thickly you could cut it with a knife, or a chainsaw in this case. "We've got it, we've got the PROTOTYPE." one of the smaller D-Bags stated into his radio, making the anticipation in me grow: as these douchebags would only take orders from TWO people that I know of, which makes this situation all-the-more bittersweet. "Th-PROTOTYPE? What the- who? What?" Eric stuttered, only to quickly shut up as the D-Bag closest to him jammed the end of his rifle into the side of his head with an aggressive grunt.

"So, it really IS you…" I heard an all-too-familiar voice state, stealing my attention from the assholes that DARED threaten my friends. Narrowing my eyes in a hateful glare, I yanked my hood up over my face and bared my teeth at the Government agent that had been a moderate part of the experiments performed on me and my baby brother. "You just can't stop being a thorn in Gentek's side can you?" he said in a smooth voice only the best of liars and con-artists can use as he knelt down and picked up The Stick before narrowing his single eye at me: he knew it was me.

"He has The Stick of Truth!" Eric gasped as the boys exchanged worried looks as the agent that had a personal vendetta against my brother and I came to a stop mere feet away from us. "How does this guy know you, Queen MacManus?" Kyle asked, causing sick laughter to float around the group of D-Bags as the Head Agent made an amused sound of his own. "Queen MacManus? You still go by that name when you know THAT name died with you four years ago! Why don't you tell them your REAL name…ZEUS!" he demanded, making me instantly see bright-orange at the codename that represented my time as not only a prisoner…but a possession.

"I don't answer to THAT name, Gentek scum: and I SUGGEST you keep it that way before I grind you into paste!" I spat through gritted teeth as I restrained my anger and extreme loathing for these men. "Look around ZEUS, YOU don't get to make demands here: Dr. McMullen has offered a reward most generous for you and Experiment 1850's capture." he said, making Alex flinch and grip the back of my jacket tighter, making several vines of biomass ripple through my body suit in response to my rage and desire to tear him apart in every possible way I could come up with.

"Look, that Stick belongs with the Fighters of Zaron, give it back!" Stan said as he held out his hand, as if the Head Agent would simply hand over anything to a child instead of following his desire and try to capture us again. "Fighters of Zaron? Boys, what's going on here is MUCH more complex than that. Don't you even know what your friend here is? Why she can do the things she does?" he suddenly questioned as I tightened my fists to the point where they openly-bled through my gloves but I didn't care in the least. "You see, our organization: Gentek, has been making vaccines for many different kinds of illnesses and weaponized viruses for decades." he started, only to be quite-rudely interrupted by Eric, and I think we were ALL grateful for that.

"Oh god…" he groaned, cueing Stan to join in: even though he knew what the Head Agent was going to say, I was grateful for his attempt to change the conversation for our sake. "Oh brother, spare us!" Stan said, making the two D-Bags behind him tighten their grip on their rifles: only to freeze as the Head Agent halted them with a wave of his hand. "Silence! We have been creating bio-organic weapons for the military to use to gain a massive advantage over any war. It was then the Director of our department: Dr. McMullen gave us plans to create a new, more lethal strain called Project Blacklight." the agent continued, only to be interrupted by Eric's overly-dramatic groan of boredom again.

"Can we skip this? Like, hit the Skip button or something?" he questioned, only to be roughly hit in the back with one of the D-Bags' rifles: sending the Grand Wizard forward and on his knees as he tenderly rubbed the rapidly-forming bruise on the back of his neck. "I got a bullet with your name on it, kid. Keep running your mouth and you won't like me very much." one of the bigger, buffer D-Bags threatened: making me bear my teeth in a vicious snarl and fought hard against my instincts until my friends were safely out of the way.

"It was flawless and utterly unpredictable! Project Blacklight was a complete success: it was volatile, it made the perfect soldiers, and there was no cure once organic material had been infected! However, this secret weapon had ONE flaw: whatever it touched couldn't be controlled, no matter what we did. We soon took to injecting it into test subjects in hopes of discovering a way to control it in this way. Unfortunately, each and every subject we had injected had fallen prey to the virus: until a child was brought to us four years ago." he explained, wanting to explain everything to us before his pet D-Bags opened fire on us, most likely.

"Yawn, yawn, yawn." Eric once AGAIN interrupted, only to jump out of his skin as a sudden 'bang' sounded and a large, smoking hole appeared right next to his foot: signally the D-Bags' withering patience. "When I give the signal, drop to the floor and do NOT stand up." I mumbled just loud enough for the boys to glance at me out of the corner of their eyes: signaling that they heard me. "This child was quite ordinary in appearance, with the exception of her curious hair color, however…once we started testing, we discovered something extraordinary. The virus bonded to her instead of killing her or changing her into one of the other bio-organic forms we keep for observation and testing. As you can see for yourselves, she still keeps her sanity and logical mindset as well as her human form, though she if FAR from human. Which is why we came up with the codename, ZEUS: to mark her as Gentek's first successful Blacklight host. But before we could train her to obey our commands, she and Experiment 1850: also known as Alexander MacManus, slipped through our hands. I had orders from Dr. McMullen and Captain Cross to secure BOTH experiments, but have failed multiple times. They feared that if the Experiments remained free for too long, they would end up in our enemy's hands or worse: develop minds of their own, which the latter has regrettably been proven true." he paused as he narrowed his gaze at me in disgust, which I returned tenfold as the boys looked to each other in confusion.

"We already know about Saphira's shapeshifting powers, but why would the Government want her brother for his farts?" Kyle questioned, making me raise an eyebrow from under my hood at the sound of such a weird question: though I couldn't blame him for not knowing about Alex's power. "That's dumb." Stan agreed, making me sigh before raising my guard: just in case the D-Bags decided to pull a sneak attack, and I wouldn't put it past them for doing so.

"His farts? No. His amazing ability to copy anyone's fighting style and knowledge of weapons far beyond even our most highly-trained officers' comprehension. Such skills have granted him vast access to any and all weapon plans: how they work, what they do, and how to build them and he can create the same weapons from just seeing the blueprints ONCE. His brilliant memory has earned him many allies in every social network: before he was five years old, he had 3.2 billion friends on Facebook alone." the Head Agent explained, causing Alex to audibly-gulp as the boys drifted their concerned and impressed gazes to him as he cowered behind my back: fraying my tolerance for this pitiful-excuse for a man even more than it already was.

"Do any of you have ANY idea the kind of power either of those gifts hold over today's world?! It's time to come with us, ZEUS: time to stop resisting your purpose and use your gift for your superiors!" he ordered, making the final bit of restraint snap: and I knew everyone in this room could sense it, though the outcome for either side will be VERY different…as they were about to find out.


	63. Chapter 63

"Gift. Gift? Is that what you think I have?" I asked quietly, keeping my head lowered so the boys couldn't see what was happening underneath the beak of my hood, or any of the D-Bags for that matter. "We have very different perspectives on 'gifts' you and I, I see a gift as something that is shared between friends or family: you, however: see a 'gift' is forcing a power upon someone that never wanted it in the first place." though the tone of my voice was level and calm, the truth hidden underneath was the purist of rage.

"Don't be so ungrateful, ZEUS: you should be thanking us for granting you such a privilege, we made you BETTER." the Head Agent replied, not noticing how the boys took a few small steps away from me. "Better? You think you made me BETTER?! You fucking CURSED ME! I NEVER wanted this, I don't want to be a KILLER! Your so-called 'GIFT' makes me a MONSTER, I don't WANT to change my form, I don't want ANY of this! Did you know that every time I consume someone, that I hear their voices cursing and threatening me without end: or their terrified and dying screams in my ears every second of every day?!" I raged as biomass openly crawled over my body suit and down my limbs at regular intervals now, only to come to rest down my legs and over my boots.

"A minor set-back that can easily be fixed, you really shouldn't take your gift for granted: it could've been easily given to another." the threat crystal-clear as everything around me seemed to fade until it was only me, the D-Bags and him as the room seemed to suffocate itself in the dead-silence like a blanket. "Fix me? FIX ME?! Just who the FUCK do you think you are?! You honestly think I'm going to let you 'FIX' me when we BOTH know what you REALLY mean by that, you serpent!? And while we're on this 'fixing' topic: why don't you find a way to fix your brain, 'cause instead of you having a 'few' screws loose: you lost the whole fucking tool box." I spat, ignoring Eric's snickers in the background as the Head Agent slapped The Stick in his hands: as if he were preparing to hit me with it.

"Enough of this foolishness! It appears we will have to fix your tone as well, now stop these childish games: you are much too fascinating for us to let you just roam free, you know this to be true. And yet all you and Experiment 1850 seem to care about…is this." he said as he held up The Stick for emphasis, making me growl in embarrassment as the D-Bags started laughing at us, and I was tilting dangerously-close to doing what I was made to as it was: I didn't need the boys to be put in danger over a smart-ass remark, so I kept my mouth shut.

"There are MUCH more important objects in the world that either of you can EASILY obtain if you come with us, why a tree branch that's worth nothing?" he inquired in a mocking tone, as if he couldn't believe that we would choose something so trivial over anything else we could possibly want. "The Stick of Truth is a Holy Relic! Whoever controls The Stick controls the universe, dumbass." Eric snapped with a roll of his eyes, making me wonder if he actually HAD a death wish, or if he really didn't give two shits about the multiple trigger-happy D-Bags aiming their rifles at him. "Yeah, stupid." Stan said, making me gulp nervously as the Head Agent's eye twitched before he grunted in disapproval: as if he didn't want to hear the answer after all.

"You have been ordered to stay professional at all times, ZEUS. Enough of this idle chatter, It's time to come home where you belong." he said, not leaving room for discussion as he pulled two pairs of Titanium handcuffs from the pocket of his jacket, causing Alex to whimper and bury his face in my back. When I didn't move to go to him, the D-Bags clicked their weapons and made to try to force me to go, only to pause as Stan stepped to my right side with a victorious smirk on his face as he griped my shoulder in his left hand. "You underestimated the character of the Fighters of Zaron! What binds us is MORE than that Relic." he said as Kyle and Eric copied the same smirk as his, only Eric's had more arrogance in it than victory.

"And you failed to recognize the character of our alliance, Saphira and Alex would NEVER choose you over us." Kyle said as he too stepped up until he was standing slightly in front of Stan, making the D-Bags snicker with contained joy: as if they thought they would get to practice their aiming skills on us soon. "Yes. And that friendship is more important to any of us…even The Stick of Truth." Eric said, shocking me as he also stepped up, making a slight growl escape the Head Agent before he stormed over to the D-Bag closest to him and harshly yanked his radio from his shoulder before narrowing his eyes in a hateful glare that PROMISED punishment. "You drive a hard bargain, ZEUS: let's see if you can resist MY offer. We're ready." he stated into the radio before the sounds of a second Blackwatch chopper droned before said chopper hovered just outside the treehouse as the door slid open.

However, once it did, I had lost all sense of humanity: leaning out of the chopper, stood McMullen in the same, perfectly-pressed business suit he had been wearing when I had first met him. It was then several things happened at once: the wind from the chopper's blades blew my hood back, exposing the feral snarl and bared teeth on my face as the world around me darkened from a fiery-orange to a blood-red. Those present saw this change, causing the boys to quickly jump back at the sight of my fire-engine-red eyes as the D-Bags took defensive stances and all aimed at me.

The Head Agent started to sweat as he gulped nervously as he tried to discretely make a break for his own chopper: only to decide against it as he saw the Hunters crawling along the hole in the wall. McMullen however, had a pleased look on his face: as if he were witnessing his child accomplish something great from the safety of the chopper. With a guttural hiss, I felt the biomass around my legs tense and ready itself as I glanced at the boys before giving the slightest of nods as I focused my vicious stare on the Head Agent again.

"I accept your offer, only not in the way you thought you would. DROP!" I commanded, causing the boys to drop like rocks to the floor: just as I lifted my right foot and stomped down with all my might in a focused, favored attack of mine I liked to call GroundSpike. The name wasn't very original, but it described what it did perfectly well as massive spikes of hardened biomass suddenly shot up from the floor in a protective circle around me and the boys. I make the spikes much smaller than they normally would be, as to avoid the treehouse coming down with the mini-earthquake as they served their purpose with vigor, judging from the choking gasps and dying gurgles of the D-Bags that had the misfortune of standing too close.

Once the spikes retreated, I transformed my right arm into the Whipfist and grabbed the Head Agent's chopper by the tail and gave it a harsh yank: sending the transport vehicle spinning out of control and crashing to the ground in an explosion of screaming metal and blue and orange flames. Raising my head, I snarled at the Head Agent as he found himself trapped between me and the Alpha Hunter as it leapt onto the platform between him and McMullen's chopper. Focusing my vengeful stare on McMullen, I heard the boys stagger to their feet on shaky legs as they observed the carnage they had just barely-managed to avoid.

"You guys finish this and get The Stick, this fucker's MINE." I snarled in unrestrained fury as the chopper began to pull away under McMullen's order, though they won't get very far. "But what about-" Kenny started, only to quiet down as I tightened my grip on my hood as I started focusing on the form I wanted. "Don't worry Kenny, he's not going anywhere." I stated in a growl as the Alpha prowled and stalked along the edge of the fortress, licking its chops and snarling as it eyed the agent hungrily with its single eye: and I was internally glad they were focusing on IT instead of the D-Bags, who looked like human-versions of Swiss cheese.

"We've got it covered here." Kyle said as I nodded before walking close to the Alpha before letting the biomass consume me: hoping that I was able to take this form as I had no idea what the virus was going to do at this point, seeing as how I had limited control of myself as it was. And I hoped my lack of control would not only FINALLY end this, but gain me the freedom I had been wishing for ever since I had been taken to my own personal hell.


	64. Chapter 64

Keeping my focus, I was unaware that I had my eyes closed until the biomass retreated, and the terrified gasps and yells started. Opening my eyes, I was both shocked and grateful that the form I wished to take had been achieved without a hitch. Instead of any other form I could've chosen: the virus gifted me with the embodiment of all the rage I was currently feeling and I loved it. I was big, easily the size of a private plane with armored scales with the design of the Daedric shield in Skyrim that each doubled the protection of both my Shield and Armor abilities.

My body had elongated and became reptilian with a sort of feline grace, I was standing on four tree-trunk legs with four massive talons attached to each foot. Attached to the bottom of my hips was a long tail with a Xenomorph blade on the tip that swished idly across the floor as I stretched my gigantic wings out to the sides: exposing a second, smaller pair of wings underneath. My neck had become serpentine with the thickness of a gas-station pipe while my head became broad and triangular. My snout had become similar to the beak of a bird of prey: though it was filled to the brim with solid-black teeth as I flicked my forked tongue to lick my nose as my nostrils flared.

Looking into the downed chopper's blades, I was able to properly see my reflection through the light of the flames: and even I was a bit intimidated by it. I was black-cherry in color with glowing-red detailing: making me look like a living creature made from cooling lava. I had two pairs of glowing, fire-engine-red pupil-less eyes set right behind each other that appeared to flash 'on and off' like a flashlight each time I blinked. From the top of my beak to the tip of my tail were rows of spikes that looked to be multiple versions of my Blade.

On my cheeks and lower jaw were giant, narrow broadaxes that extended and retracted like a switchblade each time I opened my mouth, which glowed the same bright-orange as the mouths of Hunters. Taking a closer look at my wings, I saw that the 'leather' part was serrated like the blades of a saw on the ends and were glowing the same dim red as the rest of the details of my new form: making me realize that this particular form used hardened biomass instead of the 'skin' of any other form I had at my disposal.

With a growl, I spread my wings, reared on my hind legs and let out a roar that sounded like a demonic-version of Godzilla before I turned my massive head to look at my friends: who all expressed their fear and shock in their own ways, only to have me reassure them that I was in control with a bob of my head as I nodded at them. As my gaze moved to the Head Agent however, my docile state vanished as I bared my four-foot long teeth and gnashed aggressively at him: snapping my jaws mere INCHES from him, reveling in his terror before turning to focus on my target. Tilting my head up, I inhaled the frigid air deeply, catching McMullen's scent on the wind, making my large chest rumble with a snarl before I raised both pairs of wings and took off like an eagle before banking right in a hard starboard turn as I honed in on my prey's location.

With every single beat of the larger wings located just behind my shoulders, the smaller pair on the middle of my back took two: making me able to fly much faster than a petty helicopter that could no more hurt me now than a fly could hurt a rhino. Through my bright-red gaze, I was able to easily find my target: and I made DAMN sure they knew it as I released another roar of rage that knocked the snow off the roofs and trees on the ground some sixty-feet below.

Tucking my wings close, I shot forward like a falcon and was gliding next to McMullen's chopper in less than thirty seconds: the cold wind not bothering me in the least as we flew side-by-side. Spreading my wings out again, I took a peek inside the window and saw McMullen lounging in his seat with a bourbon while the pilots tried their hardest to out-fly me: which wasn't going to happen. 'Why, hello there.' I thought as I opened my jaws in a sardonic grin before I gave the chopper a light nudge with my head, making alarms of all kinds go off in the cockpit: making McMullen jump to his feet to see what was going on. "What in God's name are you two imbeciles doing?!" he snapped, only to freeze as he saw me hovering in their path with a savage snarl on my face as I took a deep breath and spat white-hot flames at the tin-can that they DARED call protection: blinding the pilots and making the chopper stagger mid-flight.

Diving forward, I suddenly reared backwards and latched my talons onto the side of the vehicle before grabbing hold of the rotor on the top and tore it off like the top of a soda-can. With a pleased growl, I flapped my wings and let go: licking my jaws as the chopper dropped like a rock to the ground in the middle of the park, where it proceeded to set itself ablaze from its damaged gas-tank. Touching down softly on the basketball court, I folded my wings to my sides and waited patiently for the smoke to drive my prey from his hole. 'It's just you and me now McMullen, let's see how you fare in the face of Death.' I thought as hot, glowing-orange drool seeped through my teeth: making it appear as if I had chewed up a neon-orange glowstick.

I didn't have to wait very long as the door suddenly slid open: revealing thick, black smoke and the glow of the flames from within as McMullen: battered and bruised, staggered out of the downed chopper, coughing and hacking through the light snow that had begun to fall. The sight he had become in less than a minute was quite beautiful to me: his glasses were broken and askew on his stern, but wrinkled face. His once neatly-combed hair was windswept and tangled, and his suit was rumpled, wrinkled and covered in soot: making the once-terrifying man look much like the lamb he was.

His coughing was soon replaced by a strangled gasp as he caught sight of my nightmarish form as I prowled towards him like a stalking panther, spreading my jaws in a frightening grin as he staggered back away from me and flick his gaze from side-to-side in a useless attempt to escape. Commanding the virus, I became cloaked in biomass for a short time before continuing forward in my original form as McMullen came to a stop up against the chain-link fence that surrounded the park.

"Hi, Doc." I greeted in a false-pleasant voice as McMullen suddenly drew a gun from his jacket and aimed it directly at my head. "That is a foolish thing to do." I said as his gun started shaking in his sweaty grip as I came to a stop a few feet away from him. "You knew I never wanted this curse you gave me, you convinced my parents to give me to Gentek. Tell me, how much did you pay them? Knowing your profession, it must have been a lot: enough to not give a fuck that your 'scientific breakthrough' was a five-year-old." I snarled, showing off my pointed teeth even more as he cowered against the fence.

"Even for your age, you were always so intelligent: I simply gave you the means to fulfill your dreams, ZEUS." he said without a hint of remorse as I paced in front of him, keeping my bloody-red eyes locked with his own steel-gray ones. "My dreams? Since when were my 'dreams' jumping through hoops like some PET while I begged and pleaded you people to leave me the fuck alone?!" I barked, waiting for that ONE comment…the one that would seal his fate, but first: answers.

"ZEUS, please: a 'pet' is a strong word to describe yourself while you were in Gentek's care, don't you think? We simply prepared you for what was to come, was securing your future and safety so wrong to achieve?" he questioned, making me suddenly rush forward and punch a hole through the steel fence directly next to his head. "My NAME is Saphira MacManus! And the only future I saw while you kept me prisoner, was a life I wasn't interested in living: a life I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy. Except, maybe you: but I have a MUCH more fitting plan in mind for a monster like you." I said in disgust as he suddenly laughed in my face, making me grit my teeth at the audacity of this pitiful-excuse for a man.

"You call me a monster, but what does that make you, I wonder? Because unlike you, ZEUS: I have never killed anyone in cold-blood." he taunted as I lunged, gripping his throat in the Claw that had taken the place of my right arm and harshly pinned him to the fence. "All because of YOU, motherfucker! YOU DID THIS TO ME!" I screamed with rage as four bladed tendrils shot out from my back and lashed around: the blades on the tips barely brushing McMullen's face, but slicing his skin and making him bleed all the same.

"You pack a venomous sting, ZEUS: but listen, there's nothing more you can do to hurt me." he said with a sarcastic laugh as he jammed the barrel of the gun under his chin and prepared to pull the trigger, only to miss the killing shot as I used one of my tendrils to snatch the gun from his grip and toss it into the skeleton of the flaming chopper. "I beg to differ, Doc, you seem to forget: I AM in charge here, there's no need for petty toys…I have a DIFFERENT game in mind, remember?" I said with a sadistic smile as he paled an unhealthy white as he realized his fail-safe plan was just shot-to-shit and he was ultimately at my mercy.

"But if you're THAT eager to die: who am I to deny you?" I asked as my tendrils shot forward like striking snakes and wrapped around each of his limbs and held him up off the ground in a rather crude display: not that it mattered to me. "ZEUS, please! Reconsider this: you can have anything you want, just say the word and it will be done! Just release me and you'll never see me EVER again!" he suddenly pleaded, making me pause in my plotting as I eyed him with an amused expression on my hooded face.

"Huh, never thought I'd hear you beg: though it DOES make me happy to hear it, it still won't save your worthless hide, old man." I growled, not giving him any more time to try to beg for his life as I suddenly leapt at him: burying my first two clawed fingers into his forehead: making him scream in agony before I cartwheeled over his shoulder. During this time I flexed my wrist and dug my claws deeper in his body as I used the friction to slow myself down as I slid down his back: his bloodcurdling cries coming to a standstill as my boots make contact with the snow behind him.

At first glance, it looked like nothing happened: until I flicked my tendrils in opposite directions: effectively pulling his body apart in two perfect vertical halves that were so perfect in fact: that each and every one of his organs stayed within their proper places and were split directly down the middle. With a look of pure satisfaction I carelessly tossed both of his halves away from me, watching them land across each other: the only movement coming from him was the blood leaking from his theoretic-black heart.

'I hope you suffer the same cruelty as you dealt unto me, you bastard.' I thought before I wiped McMullen's blood from my face before I turned away from the scene and let the biomass consume me as I walked away: taking the form of the Blacklight Dragon once more as I spread my wings and took to the air, rushing back to Clyde's house to find out what had become of my friends…and the Holy Relic that had control over the universe itself.


	65. Chapter 65

Even though what I had just done was severely frowned-upon, I knew it was what I had to do: if I did, Alex and I would be free, if I didn't: who knows what Gentek and Blackwatch would be doing. With that in mind, I slowed down my flight and took in the sight South Park had become and it looked like a warzone: buildings were on fire, cars and trucks were flipped over, parts of the UFO still burned and military vehicles sat abandoned throughout various places.

The small groups of Blackwatch soldiers that still remained were quickly being overrun by the Nazi zombies that seemed to have taken over the entire town: making me sad when I spotted people I recognized shuffling along with the rest of the many rotting corpses. Taking my gaze from them, I leveled my wings out in a smooth glide as I circled around Clyde's fortress and spotted Alex and Stan fighting Kenny! Though he didn't look like he did when I had left, making me realize with a heavy heart that Kenny had become a Nazi zombie too.

Deciding not to intervene, I continued to circle around the massive treehouse and saw that the Head Agent was on Kenny's side of the ring and was giving him orders, making my red eyes burn like hot coals in anger. Before I could swoop down and snatch the manipulative snake, I caught sight of the Hunter pack lurking like vultures circling a carcass: waiting patiently to make their move when they were least expected. As I made my fourth pass around the battle, I gave a short roar to my friends below: making the Head Agent growl in anger as everyone (including Nazi zombie Princess Kenny) looked up and caught sight of my massive form.

And apparently, my greeting was just the distraction the boys needed as Eric snuck up on Kenny from behind and grabbed hold of him, holding him still and keeping his attention as Alex's face suddenly became scrunched-up before he bent over and actually FARTED on poor Kenny. It was a good thing that I was shocked enough to hover in mid-flight, because as soon as Alex did that, a bright-white light flashed from the source of the battle and seemed to cover the entire town in its too-bright presence. Once the green and blue spots in front of my vision went away, I looked around from my position to find that every single Nazi zombie had been returned to normal: how that happened, I had no clue.

As I stretched out my legs and lowered myself to the platform, I watched as Kyle walked over to Kenny and helped him to his feet: steadying him when he almost toppled over in his dazed state. 'I wonder how Kenny became a zombie, there weren't any other zombies up here when I left, and he's too smart to actually touch the green goo Clyde had gotten hold of.' I thought in confusion as I folded my wings back and let the virus transform me back to my original form. Once I did, I was greeted with both wary looks and smiles as Stan and Butters ran up to me.

"Saphira, dude! You're back, what about that man you were chasing?" Stan asked as the rest of the boys celebrated the return of The Stick while I gave him a pointed look. "Let's not mention that." I said, feeling bad as he turned green in the face, but nodded eagerly in agreement as the rest of the boys eventually took notice of me and rushed over to find out what happened. "Saphy?" Alex questioned in a tiny voice as I lowered my hood and grinned happily at him. "We don't need to worry about going anywhere, Little Bit." I said, making his eyes tear up as he practically jumped on me and knocked me to the floor with an 'oof' as the wind got knocked out of me.

"Good to have you back, Queen MacManus: we wouldn't have an awesome celebration without you." Eric said as he picked up The Stick of Truth from the floor and held it tightly to his chest: as if to protect it from any FURTHER incidences. "Glad I could make it, bastard had me hauling ass all the way across town." I said in distain as I let out a yawn, making Eric smack me on the top of my head with his stick for causing a nearly-continuous chain-reaction of yawns throughout the group.

"Sorry!" I yelped with a laugh as I was suddenly assaulted with playful punches and noogies that made my hair a poofy nightmare that would be a bitch to brush out later. "H-Hey, big g-government meanie! Where are ya going?" Butters called, drawing everyone's attention to the Head Agent as he tried to make a break for the exit when we weren't paying attention. Smirking deviously at my friends, I tensed my legs and sprinted for him, jumping between him and the exit: blocking his almost-escape. "Going somewhere?" I questioned with a cocky smirk as the rest of the boys approached with evil smirks and grins of their own.

"Red Crown WILL hear of this, ZEUS! Mark my words, you and Experiment 1850 will be rotting in a cell very soon!" he threatened as I scowled at his words like bad vegetables for dinner, throwing him off as the mention of the Blackwatch Command Unit would normally have me cowering in a corner, now it had no effect on me. "Fine by me, more asses to kick: YOU however, we're not done with you." I said as the boys started cracking their knuckles with angry glares on their faces: particularly Kyle and Kenny, though I wasn't sure why. "You know a bunch of kids wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort, or has your mind disappeared along with your sanity, Creature?!" he spat, making my smirk widen into a sinister smile, making the Head Agent's cocky attitude disappear into one of concern.

"Who said anything about kids?" I questioned as I purposely glanced upwards, cueing the one-eyed man to follow my gaze nervously, only to cry-out in fear as he pissed himself at the sight he was met with. With hungry growls and snorts, the five Hunters that had been an invaluable assist to me and my friends crawled down the walls like scuttling cockroaches, snapping their jaws and licking their teeth with drool-soaked tongues. As the adult in front of me panicked, I smiled as the Alpha lowered its head in a submissive greeting before bellowing at the Head Agent, making us laugh as his entire front side became covered in pale, sticky drool that didn't appear to be coming off any time soon.

"Glad you guys could join the party." I greeted as they regarded me with head-bumps before they circled around and formed a ring around us. "If you're going to kill me, do it! I'm not afraid of you, ZEUS and I don't plan on starting now!" he snarled as I snickered at his poor attempt to act tough. "My loyal friends, will one of you please PLEASE get this asshole out of here?" I asked sweetly as all five Hunters pounced the poor guy: snarling and snapping at him as they dragged him off by his legs off the edge of the platform and off into the darkness that was quickly becoming early-morning.

"You think those things will kill him?" Kyle asked, a little unnerved by my nonchalant shrug: in all honesty, I didn't know WHAT they were gonna do, but I wouldn't complain if there was suddenly one less asshole in the world. "Who knows, I guess he better hope he doesn't piss them off: Hunters have a worse temper than I do." I replied as we all made our way out of Clyde's treehouse and back onto solid-ground: where many kids of both armies lay defeated in the snow.

"Now that we have The Stick of Truth, what are we gonna do with it?" Kenny asked as we all looked to Eric as he stared at the Holy Relic with a contemplative look on his face. "There's only ONE thing we can do with it." he said as he walked to the front of the group and started leading us through the destroyed town and in the direction of the school. As we passed multiple heavy machinery and workers rapidly working their magic to rebuild what was lost, I found myself walking between Kyle and Kenny: the latter of the two was a bit too close, but I was too tired to really care as his arm kept brushing mine on occasion.

Squinting my eyes against the rising sun, it wasn't long before we reached the destination Eric had chosen, and I gulped nervously as I found myself standing at the edge of Stark's Pond. Taking my fear of water into account, Kyle and Kenny were nice enough to stand by me as I stood a few feet further away from Eric and Stan and the innocent pond. "You guys SURE about this?" Kyle asked as he eyed The Stick that all of us had basically fought tooth-and-nail over since a few weeks before my family even MOVED to South Park.

"There's no other way." Eric said as he stared almost-longingly at the Holy Relic in his hand as he heaved a defeated sigh. "It drove our friend to madness and nearly killed us all." Stan said as we all stared at the branch that had caused us both excitement and grief in Eric's grip. "There was also the whole 'military' visit that had a lot to do with that." I reminded Stan as he glanced sheepishly at me, as if he had actually FORGOTTEN that part.

"Well…there was always THAT." he said, making a small laugh escape me before we continued to stare at The Stick as Eric sighed again before stretching his left hand outwards and pulled his right arm back: taking aim before he chucked The Stick as far as he could into the pond. As it hit the water with a soft 'splash', we watched as it floated on the surface for a few seconds before it vanished from sight as it sank to the bottom of its watery grave.

Once it was gone, none of us really knew what to do now that the very object this hellish game surrounded was gone, until the boys' faces broke out into excited grins as they high-fived each other: making me wonder how the HELL any of them were this hyper after pulling an exhausting all-nighter. "So what do you guys wanna play now?!" Eric asked as Stan and Kyle grew excited as they thought of new ideas for our new adventure.

"How about Dinosaur Hunters?!" Stan suggested, glancing at me with a mischievous smirk as he did, causing a good-natured scowl to appear on my face at his absurd idea: not that it was a BAD idea, I just highly-doubted my friends' parents would appreciate their kids playing with a shapeshifter that could turn into things that could easily eat them. "Or Pharaohs and Mummies!" Kyle added in a voice that was just as excited as Stan's, only to wait patiently as Eric held his hand up to stop their excited chatter. "Let's ask MacManus! Do you have any ideas?" he asked as I raised my hand to my face to stifle yet another yawn before answering.

"Oh, I have plenty of ideas: I'd just rather go to bed and sleep off this horrendous headache I've got from listening to the pointless bullshit of adults who have an ego bigger than their brains. Besides: I was already 'Savior' once, let somebody else have a turn now." I said as I straightened my spine and commanded the virus to change my body suit back to my trademark dark-red hoodie, orange pants, black gloves and burnt-orange beanie that I felt as if it had been YEARS since I had last worn them: it was a good feeling to have them back.

"Then let's ask Douchebag then, what do you wanna play next, dude?" Eric asked as all four boys grinned at him as they awaited his answer as he glanced at me before turning his attention back to the formerly-known Grand Wizard. "Screw you guys. I'm going home." he said, shocking me that he had actually spoken to them, and in such a rude manner: and I wasn't the only shocked one, judging by the slack-jawed expressions on the boys' faces.

As Alex passed me and walked in the direction of home, I pulled my hand back and roughly smacked him upside his head: making him turn around and glare at me as he rubbed the back of his head, only to shrink back as I gave him a disapproving glare of my own before letting him continue on his way. "Wow. What a dick." Eric said as Stan and Kenny nodded in agreement while Kyle looked at me in concern as I adjusted my beanie over my long, burgundy locks.

"Don't worry about him too much, you guys. He's only like that because he hasn't had any food and you kept calling him 'Douchebag' the entire game. He may be acting like an asshole, but trust me when I say: he likes you guys. Just try calling him by his name next time, won't you?" I asked with a tired smile, which they returned as I gave them a friendly wave before turning my back to them and followed my brother's footsteps in the direction of the place we could hopefully call home for a long time from now.

Kicking a pebble down the sidewalk, I couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread across my face as I thought about all the wonderful friends I've made, and I knew deep inside that no matter what happened: those friends would always be there when I needed them, just as I would be there for them: come hell or high-water…any threats to South Park, beware…beware The Monster in the Mirror.


End file.
